The story follows a husband who supposedly put his wife up for sale because she’d grown too fat, and includes shots of a nearly nude woman in lingerie. 1990’s “Fat, Forty and Flab-ulous” is a photocopy of a spread from now defunct Sunday Sport newspaper from the heyday of UK tabloid press. Similar to other YBAs from working-class backgrounds, Lucas started out using found objects including toilets, newspapers and chairs, while her work is said to embody a type of Britishness that is bawdy and knowing at once. Fellow YBAs include Tracey Emin, famous for confessional pieces like “ My Bed” and Damien Hirst, known for his pop art-like prints and bombastic installations, including a shark hovering in formaldehyde. Lucas first gained recognition as part of the Young British Artists (YBAs), a group of enterprising Goldsmith University students who titillated the art world in the 1990s with their candor and jocularity (imagine a British art-world precursor to MTV stunt show “Jackass”).
It probably depends on what you’re bringing to it whether you’re secretly embarrassed about something. “I’m certainly not trying to tell people what to think. How you respond to the work implies something about you as much the art, Lucas said during an interview with CNN on the day of the exhibition preview.
Seen here installed in the grounds of the Tate Britain gallery in 2023. 'Florian' and 'Kevin,' are just 'big veg,' said Lucas.
