‘The Girls’ performance art tea party is a hit at Endorse-It In-Dorset Festival!

Award-winning artist duo ‘The Girls’ proved a crowd-pleaser with their cheeky performance art installation at the Endorse-it in-Dorset Festival

Alongside the many bands at the fourth Endorse-it in-Dorset festival this weekend were art duo ‘The Girls’, who drew a large crowd with their performance art work ‘Garden Party’. It was the first public performance of the work, which gives an English twist to ‘Nyotaimori’ – the Japanese practice of eating sushi from the naked body of a woman. Security guards were on hand and only one mischievous festival-goer managed to snatch a cake.

“The Girls saucy art installation was a massive hit with the Endorse-it crowd. Amazingly, some people couldn't work out if it was a real woman?! Quirky and original – it was everything I had hoped for and more!”

Ffi Maund, LGO Festivals - event organisers

The Girls are artists Andrea Blood and Zoe Sinclair, both 31, who grew up in Dorset and began their collaboration, which focuses on photographic self-portraiture, at Central Saint Martins in 1996. The Girls have two forthcoming solo shows in London, and have exhibited at The National Portrait Gallery and the Los Angeles Center for Digital Art.

Over the weekend of 10 – 12 August 2007, the fourth Endorse-it in-Dorset music festival took place near the village of Sixpenny Handley in the beautiful setting of Cranborne Chase. On Ladies Day (Sunday 12th) festival goers dressed up for the day and indulged their most far fetched, dressing-up fantasies.

The festival goes from strength to strength, pulling in visitors and artists from around the globe and has grown from a one day event of 750 capacity, to a three day festival of 5,000. Acts this year included The Undertones and Tracey Emin's former partner, musician/poet Billy Childish.

Read Vik Gill's full interpretation of 'Garden Party'

Photograph by Sean Gardiner

13/8/07