Angus Fairhurst, an original member of the group of "Young British Artists" that included Damien Hirst and Sarah Lucas (with whom Fairhurst is pictured, at right), took his own life on Saturday in a remote part of Scotland. He was 41 years old.

The Telegraph describes Fairhurst's cerebral style:

Many of Fairhurst's works consisted of visual distortions and practical jokes. Early in his career he re-routed the telephone lines of different art galleries to each other and taped the ensuing irritation and confusion, his comment on the perception that the art world was interested in talking only to itself.

He once cast half a ton of bronze as a nine-foot banana, but latterly he seemed preoccupied with gorillas, and produced images of these giant beasts ranging from cartoon depictions to models in bronze and clay.