Tracey Emin’s RA show in pieces

When Tracey Emin was asked to curate a 'show within a show' at the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition, everyone expected trouble, especially as the artist herself warned that she didn't want to "disappoint anyone who expects outrage". Sadly, for her, that has not been forthcoming. However, an accident over the weekend is causing the RA a few headaches. A female visitor accidentally lost her balance near a 9ft ceramic sculpture and sent the whole thing crashing to the ground.

The sculpture, described by Emin as the star of the show, was one of five totems by Costa Rican artist Tatiana Echeverri Fernandez, collectively titled Frauleins Christina, Panthea, Zenobia, Semiramis and Guinevere. A visitor who witnessed the accident, Claire San Martin, said: "It was an enormous crash. Like pottery smashing. After a while a person who was in charge of the room ran off to get help and someone came in with a dustpan and brush to clean it up. Before that people were still coming in to the room and thought it was part of the exhibition. They were taking pictures."

The RA took a dim view of this, even threatening legal action against one of the people taking photos. It is now dealing with the aftermath of the accident, believed to be the result of the barriers being too close to the work. Says an art world source: "Although this will be covered by insurance, it will mean the RA’s premiums will rocket."