Santa's Ghetto

Every city has one: a budget 'for one month only' Christmas shop selling all sorts of festive tack throughout December, only for it to go back to being a derelict shop for the rest of the year. But in London, as ever, things are done a little bit differently. Tucked away in a Soho side-street lies the UK's first temporary anti-Christmas shop. Run by art collective Pictures On Walls, better known as retailers of work by Jamie Hewlett, Banksy and David Shrigley, Santa's Ghetto is not your average Christmas shop. Done out like an artist's commune, those walls that aren't just bare concrete are covered with papier-mâché, replete with murals. At the back of the shop, Santa is nailed to a crucifix, and visitors are encouraged to throw objects at him in a grotesquely anti-festive Coconut Shy. This may be the first temporary Christmas shop to look more derelict during open season than when it's closed. And while the concept is clearly the biggest talking point, this shouldn't overshadow the art: a number of new works from Hewlett, based around his Gorillaz characters, as well as a witty Banksy interpretation of the walls put up to divide Palestinian settlers from Israeli residents really standing out. Other exhibitions include extreme taxidermy, and a rotisserie reindeer counter. Not for those with an overly sentimental attachment to Christmas, then, but if you have a sense of humour about the season to be jolly, you'd best join the crowds of people - including Norman Cook - who flocked to the opening day; before the shop closes down, and the tone goes up a level, that is.

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