Selfie destruction: $200,000 of art destroyed for photo

This is the excruciating moment a woman is alleged to have destroyed as much as $200,000 worth of art in a Los Angeles gallery.

CCTV footage shows tourists carefully perusing a room decorated with dozens of rectangular pillars at renowned artist Simon Birch's exhibit at The 14th Factory.

One woman appears to crouch down next to one of the installations, topped with a crown, when disaster strikes.

The woman appears to lean against one of the structures, sending it toppling into others in a domino effect until they all fall down.

The art is part of an exhibition called The 14th Factory - this is Hypercaine (The Reward) before it was toppled over. Photo / Rebecca McQuigg Rigal

A YouTuber who claims to be a friend of British-born artist Birch, 42, uploaded the video online.

He wrote: This took place at my mate Simon Birch's art installation in Los Angeles.

"She accidentally leant on it and the rest is history... $200,000 worth of art destroyed!"

The room the very awkward accident happened in is known as the Hypercaine, one of 14 that art aficionados traverse through during the exhibit.

Birch created the exhibit with the help of 16 interdisciplinary artists from China, Hong Kong, the US, the UK, and Canada, according to arts website Design Milk.

Birch's project is said to be six years in the making and was supposed to take place in Hong Kong, his permanent place of residence, before he finally settled in an empty warehouse in downtown LA.

Design Milk says: "The exhibition takes viewers through 14 different rooms, or parts, to the iconic hero's story... the journey into another world, the battle, the reward, the ending transformation.

"Think about the storylines of Star Wars or Harry Potter and the monumental scenes that define the movies.

"Now, imagine you're the hero of story as you take a walk through each room of The 14th Factory."

As part of the exhibition Birch, who survived brain cancer, filmed the destruction of his $50,000 Ferrari 308.

He was given six months to live which forced him to re-evaluate his life. Having defeated the disease, he decided to destroy his most valuable possession as part of an ongoing artwork.

- Daily Mail