The art world forever strives for the innovative and the rare perspective. A competition is on in the UK, in search of Britain's best figurative art. There were almost three thousand entries for the Threadneedle Figurative Prize. They ranged from paintings, to sculpture, to installations. Seventy-one finalists have been declared. Now members of the public can vote for their favourite.

The Mall Gallery in London hosted the competition. The Threadneedle Figurative Art Prize was open to artists living and working in the UK. The event aims to show how modern figurative art can be contemporary and edgy.

Lewis McNaught, Director of Mall Galleries, said, "We're trying to raise much greater interest in figurative representational art which I think for a long time people have felt has been a bit stuffy and old fashioned, but actually new figurative art can be very edgy, it can be very topical, it can be very sensuous, and can be very lively and surprising, and I think people kind of think figurative art is just about figuration, portraiture, the odd picture of Venice, but it isn't, it's also about some really exciting work, so we want to provide a platform to show that work off".

Entries ranged in scope and style. The Fifth Horseman of the Apocalypse was put together from recycled junk, including mobile phones and plastic toys.

Another work -- by Janette Harris, is called "Man Made; Reinterpreting the Worthless". She turned discarded grocery bags into hoodies.

Lewis McNaught, said, "It's about the way we look at society I suppose, it's partly the waste material that we throw away, and the tragedy of all the plastic bags, but it's also in the formation of those plastic bags in the shape of hoodies, how we regard people who walk around with hoodies, it's part of the way we regard them as the detritus of society".

Tim Shaw's 'Tank on Fire' derives from a press photo of a burning tank in Iraq. The piece is made from wood, metal and plastic bags. There's also David Sullivan's 'Home Entertainment.' It's a view of a boarded up house insinuating a contemporary look at modern life.

The eventual winner will take away a 20,000 pound prize. The Threadneedle Figurative competition really is meant to give people a fresh look at how contemporary artists view the world around them.