The company that markets Tupperware announced the winners yesterday of a competition to turn the containers into art exhibits. Kriss Ulve, a Tupperware demonstrator from Ploemeur, France, won the Free Form category with a sculpture of a fish made from the plastic containers, left. Another entrant produced an evening dress, right.

Tupperware, which turned 60 this year, is a fixture in kitchens and American popular culture. Its sales parties continue around the world — although they were scrapped in Britain three years ago. In the early days, the magazine House Beautiful declared the containers “fine art for 39 cents”.

Now the Florida-based Tupperware Brands Corporation, which had global sales of $1.2 billion last year, wants to end the reputation of its products as relics of a bygone era. Hundreds of entries were judged by a panel of home-design and materials experts. The winners received $5,000 (£2,650) and trips to New York, where the winning items are on display at the Time Warner Centre.

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