When Paul McCarthy tried to buy Michael Jackson's house

The artist Paul McCarthy was on fine form during a panel discussion at Art Basel Miami Beach earlier this month on the obtuse topic of “Intersections in Art: the Many Worlds of Worldbuilding”. McCarthy plumbs the darkest depths of human behaviour in his art, creating controversial work including performance pieces in which the artist and the German actress Lilith Stangenberg dress as Hitler and Eva Braun. In Miami, McCarthy revealed that he hoped to buy Michael Jackson’s former home and private amusement park, Neverland, following the pop star’s death in 2009. “I tried to buy Neverland. I came close. That was the work—to buy Neverland,” he told fairgoers. What else is on his bucket list? “I have a Santa Claus movie I want to make. Santa Claus is a corporate disease.” Which makes us wonder: did McCarthy get a visit from the man with the white beard for Christmas?