Critics hail Saatchi £2.2m conceptual art coup

Patron of the arts Charles Saatchi has broken new ground with his audacious commission for a one-off performance piece by Guy De La Tong entitled Why Burning stuff is Fun (Disposal of Sins).

The work consisted of the artist sneaking into Saatchi's Shoreditch warehouse and setting fire to his extensive collection of Britart. More than 80 firefighters were called to the blaze shortly before 4am last Monday, but were hampered by De La Tong slashing their hoses in an impromptu extension of his performance. Jake and Dinos Chapman's Hell, Damien Hurst's Spotty Painting Number 171: Will This Do? and Tracey Emin's famous I Done Shitted the Bed Agane are just some of the priceless artefacts to go up in smoke.

"It's worth every single penny to know that I'm contributing to the future of British art in this way," Mr Saatchi said yesterday. "I haven't so much lost an art collection as gained a powerful insight into the mind of a genius. And discovered the amazing flammability of formaldehyde, which is a bonus."

The artists whose work has been destroyed have universally championed Tong's actions when we spoke to them. Indeed, some were moved to the brink of tears by his groundbreaking work. "Er, quite brilliant in its audacity," said a puffy-eyed Damien Hurst from his doorstep the day after the priceless bonfire. "I wish I'd thought of it myself. Really."

De La Tong's brief press statement described his £2.2m performance as "a fiery cleansing exercise born of my individuality. Does my work shock you? Does it?" A bare minimum of facts is known about the reclusive artist: He went to Goldsmith's College, his favourite medium is petrol and he has a rather absurd haircut.

Critics wearing ostentatious glasses have already heralded the performance piece as "the most significant development of the 21st century" and "more important than breathing". The British public can only await De La Tong's next work, The King is in the Altogether, with bated breath.