FLOODING has forced the postponement of the Unit 5 exhibition in The Gallery at Ryedale Folk Museum, Hutton le Hole, until the summer.

This week's extreme weather conditions have led to an increase in humidity levels, causing concern for gallery manager Andy Dalton and the Arts Council Collection over the safety of the exhibits, especially of Willy, Sarah Lucas's garden gnome covered in Marlborough cigarettes.

Willy is the most valuable piece in the Unit 5 show and would have been exhibited from tomorrow alongside Edward Lipski's Tattoo, Vathy De Monchaux's Clearing The Tracks Before They Appear, Joanne Tatham and Tom O'Sullivan's HK Marble (Absolute Black Zimbabwe) and Elizabeth Wright's Pizza Delivery Moped Enlarged To 145% Of Its Original Size.

The Unit 5 show had been curated by Ellie Brown, Chloe Hill, Rebecca Simpson, Anna Soltysik and Jack Wilford, all students from Malton School, to reflect the issues and concerns of young people living in North Yorkshire.

The five works selected from the Arts Council Collection each explored the contradictions of living in a rural location in a culture that is predominantly urban.

"Our aim was to try to open the public's mind about drugs, fags, tats, sex and pizza - a normal Friday night for a group of youths, " say the curators. "All the sculptures relate to everyday objects that may be seen as rebellious. No teenager can be seen as a goody two shoes, right?"

Andy says: "The postponement is a disappointment for the students as the exhibition was to be public recognition for the work they had done in curating the project, from selecting the pieces, to developing the publicity, and painting the gallery space."

Unit 5 now will run from July 5 to August 17.