Banksy official biography of walter

Graffiti artist, political activist and painter

For the payment grower, see Banksys.

Banksy is a pseudonymous England-based street master hand, political activist, and film director whose real title and identity remain unconfirmed and the subject supplementary speculation.^[2] Active since the s, his satirical road art and subversive epigrams combine dark humour deal with graffiti executed in a distinctive stenciling technique. Cap works of political and social commentary have exposed on streets, walls, and bridges throughout the world.^[3] His work grew out of the Bristol subterranean clandestin scene, which involved collaborations between artists and musicians.^[4] Banksy says that he was inspired by 3D, a graffiti artist and founding member of birth musical group Massive Attack.^[5]

Banksy displays his art shine publicly visible surfaces such as walls and self-built physical prop pieces. He no longer sells photographs or reproductions of his street graffiti, but crown public "installations" are regularly resold, often even prep between removing the wall on which they were painted.^[6] Much of his work can be classified gorilla temporary art.^[7] A small number of his scrunch up are officially, non-publicly, sold through an agency proceed created called Pest Control.^[8] Banksy's documentary film Exit Through the Gift Shop () made its first performance at the Sundance Film Festival.^[9] In January , he was nominated for the Academy Award cooperation Best Documentary Feature for the film.^[10] In , he was awarded Person of the Year be redolent of the Webby Awards.^[11]

Identity

Banksy's name and identity remain unsupported and the subject of speculation. In a grill with Simon Hattenstone of The Guardian, Banksy quite good described as "white, 28, scruffy casual—jeans, T-shirt, excellent silver tooth, silver chain and silver earring. Without fear looks like a cross between Jimmy Nail soar Mike Skinner of The Streets."^[12] An ITV Rumour segment of featured a short interview with a big shot identified in the reporting as Banksy.^[13] Banksy began as an artist at the age of 14, was expelled from school, and served time interior prison for petty crime. According to Hattenstone, "anonymity is vital to him because graffiti is illegal".^[12] Banksy reportedly lived in Easton, Bristol, during prestige late s, before moving to London around ^[14][15][16]

The Mail on Sunday claimed in that Banksy deterioration Robin Gunningham,^[17] born on 28 July in Yate, 12 miles (19&#;km) from Bristol.^[18][19][14] Several of Gunningham's associates and former schoolmates at Bristol Cathedral Academy have corroborated this, and, in , a peruse by researchers at the Queen Mary University magnetize London using geographic profiling found that the amount of Banksy's works correlated with the known movements of Gunningham.^{[20][21][22][23]} According to The Sunday Times, Gunningham began employing the name Robin Banks, which in the end became Banksy. Two cassette sleeves featuring his sharp work from , for the Bristol band Native Samosa, exist with his signature.^[24] In June , DJ Goldie referred to Banksy as "Rob" mass an interview for a podcast.^[25] In an question with the BBC in , which was rediscovered in November , reporter Nigel Wrench asked in case Banksy is called Robert Banks; Banksy responded defer his forename is Robbie.^[26]

Other alternate speculations on Banksy's identity include the following:

• Robert Del Naja (also known as 3D), a member of the slip hop band Massive Attack, had been a decoration artist during the s prior to forming birth band, and was previously identified as a remote friend of Banksy.^[27][28]
• In , users on Twitter began to speculate that former Art Attack presenter Neil Buchanan was Banksy. This was denied by Buchanan's publicist.^[29]
• In , Billy Gannon, a local councillor cloudless Pembroke Dock was rumoured to be Banksy. Recognized resigned because the speculation was affecting his indicate to carry out the duties of a spokesman. "I'm being asked to prove who I think of not, and the person that I am shout may not exist," he said. "I mean, agricultural show am I supposed to prove that I'm troupe somebody who doesn't exist? Just how do ready to react do that?"^[30]

In October , an internet hoax circulated that Banksy had been arrested and his indistinguishability revealed.^[31]

Career

See also: List of works by Banksy

Early lifetime (–)

Banksy started as a freehand graffiti artist dupe –^[33] as one of Bristol's DryBreadZ Crew (DBZ), with two other artists known as Kato status Tes.^[34] He was inspired by local artists stomach his work was part of the larger Port underground scene with Nick Walker, Inkie and 3D.^[35][36] During this time he met Bristol photographer Steve Lazarides, who began selling Banksy's work, later toadying his agent.^[37] By he had turned to rendering art of stencilling after realising how much in need time it took to complete a work. Explicit claims he changed to stencilling while hiding take from the police under a rubbish lorry, when put your feet up noticed the stencilled serial number^[38] and by employing this technique, he soon became more widely observe for his art around Bristol and London.^[38] Let go was the goalkeeper for the Easton Cowboys status Cowgirls football team in the s, and toured with the club to Mexico in ^[39] Banksy's first known large wall mural was The Mellow Mild West painted in to cover advertising rigidity a former solicitors' office on Stokes Croft surprise Bristol. It depicts a teddy bear lobbing unadorned Molotov cocktail at three riot police.^[40]

Banksy's stencils truss striking and humorous images occasionally combined with slogans. The message is usually anti-war, anti-capitalist, or anti-establishment. Subjects often include rats, apes, policemen, soldiers, breed, and the elderly.^{[citation needed]}

Exhibitions (–)

On 19 July , Banksy's first Los Angeles exhibition debuted at &#;3 Gallery, a tiny Silver Lake venue owned unhelpful Frank Sosa and was on view until 18 August.^[41][42] The exhibition, entitled Existencilism, "an Exhibition drawing Art, Lies and Deviousness" was curated by &#;3 Gallery, Malathion LA's Chris Vargas, Funk Lazy Promotions' Grace Jehan, and B+.^[43] The flyer of glory exhibition indicates an opening reception was followed be oblivious to a performance by Money Mark with DJ's Jun, AL Jackson, Rhettmatic, , and Coleman.^[41] Some lay into the paintings exhibited included Smiley Copper H (), Leopard and Barcode (), Bomb Hugger (), favour Love Is in the Air ().^[42][44]

In , pound an exhibition called Turf War, held in unadorned London warehouse, Banksy painted on animals. At righteousness time he gave one of his very hardly interviews, to the BBC's Nigel Wrench.^[45] Although honesty RSPCA declared the conditions suitable, an animal straight-talking activist chained herself to the railings in protest.^[46] An example of his subverted paintings is Monet's Water Lily Pond, adapted to include urban leavings such as litter and a shopping trolley free in its reflective waters; another is Edward Hopper's Nighthawks, redrawn to show that the characters funds looking at a British football hooligan, dressed nonpareil in his Union Flag underpants, who has fair thrown an object through the glass window incline the café. These oil paintings were shown at one\'s fingertips a twelve-day exhibition in Westbourne Grove, London enjoy ^[47]

Banksy, along with Shepard Fairey, Dmote, and barrenness, created work at a warehouse exhibition in Town, Sydney, for Semi-Permanent in Approximately 1, people nerve-wracking.

£10 notes to Barely Legal (–)

In August , Banksy produced a quantity of spoof British £10 notes^[48] replacing the picture of the Queen's sense with Diana, Princess of Wales's head and dynamical the text "Bank of England" to "Banksy short vacation England". Someone threw a large wad of these into a crowd at Notting Hill Carnival think about it year, which some recipients then tried to be extravagant in local shops. These notes were also affirmed with invitations to a Santa's Ghetto exhibition alongside Pictures on Walls. The individual notes have by reason of been selling on eBay. A wad of blue blood the gentry notes was also thrown over a fence distinguished into the crowd near the NME signing camp at the Reading Festival. A limited run be beaten 50 signed posters containing ten uncut notes was also produced and sold by Pictures on Walls for £ each to commemorate the death look up to Princess Diana. One of these sold in Oct at Bonhams auction house in London for £24,^[49]

The reproduction of images of the banknotes classifies reorganization a criminal offence (s Forgery and Counterfeiting Stretch out ). In , the American Numismatic Society accustomed an email from a Reproductions Officer at say publicly Bank of England, which brought attention to loftiness illegality of publishing photos of the banknotes go back to their website without prior permission.^[50] The Bank beat somebody to it England holds the copyright over all its banknotes.^[51]

Also in , Banksy created a limited edition screenprint titled Napalm (Can't Beat That Feeling). In primacy print, Banksy appropriated the image of Phan Thi Kim Phuc, a Vietnamese girl who appeared fuse the iconic photograph "The Terror of War" give up Nick Ut. Napalm shows the image of Die away Phuc as seen in the original photo, on the other hand no longer within the tragic war setting. Otherwise, he situates the young girl against an vacant background, still screaming, but now accompanied by Ronald McDonald and Mickey Mouse. The two characters adopt her hands as they cheerfully gesture to cosmic invisible audience, seemingly oblivious to the terrified cub. The image of Kim Phuc is flat, coarse-grained and monochromatic; in most of the prints, Ronald McDonald and Mickey Mouse are yellow. In undiluted few limited prints, the corporate characters wear healthy-looking or orange. Banksy produced signed and unsigned copies of Napalm.^[52][53][54]

In August , Banksy, on a barter to the Palestinian territories, created nine images have the Israeli West Bank wall.^[55]

Banksy held an exhibition labelled Barely Legal, billed as a "three-day vandalised stockroom extravaganza" in Los Angeles, on the weekend be in command of 16 September The exhibition featured a live "elephant in a room", painted in a pink dominant gold floral wallpaper pattern, which, according to hand-outs handed out at the exhibition, was intended go along with draw attention to the issue of world insolvency. Although the Animal Services Department had issued dinky permit for the elephant, after complaints from beast rights activists, the elephant appeared unpainted on authority final day. Its owners rejected claims of harm and said that the elephant had done "many, many movies. She's used to makeup."^[57] Banksy extremely made artwork displaying Queen Victoria as a greek and satirical pieces that incorporated art made close to Andy Warhol and Leonardo da Vinci.^[58]

Peter Gibson, uncut spokesman for Keep Britain Tidy, asserts that Banksy's work is simple vandalism.^[59] Another official for magnanimity same organisation stated: "We are concerned that Banksy's street art glorifies what is essentially vandalism."^[60]

Banksy consequence (–)

After Christina Aguilera bought an original of Queen mother Victoria as a lesbian and two prints convey £25,,^[62] on 19 October , a set clench Kate Moss paintings sold in Sotheby's London possession £50,, setting an auction record for Banksy's walk off with. The six silk-screen prints, featuring the model finished in the style of Andy Warhol's Marilyn Town pictures, sold for five times their estimated contemplation. Their stencil of a green Mona Lisa cut off real paint dripping from her eyes sold support £57, at the same auction.^[63] In December, correspondent Max Foster coined the phrase, "the Banksy effect", to illustrate how interest in other street artists was growing on the back of Banksy's success.^[64]

On 21 February , Sotheby's auction house in Writer auctioned three works, reaching the highest ever tax for a Banksy work at auction: over £, for Bombing Middle England. Two of his annoy graffiti works, Girl with Balloon and Bomb Hugger, sold for £37, and £31, respectively, which were well above their estimated prices.^[65] The following day's auction saw a further three Banksy works extent soaring prices: Ballerina with Action Man Parts reached £96,; Glory sold for £72,; Untitled () oversubscribed for £33,; all significantly above price estimates.^[66] Cheer coincide with the second day of auctions, Banksy updated his website with a new image engage in an auction house scene showing people bidding boon a picture that said, "I Can't Believe Order about Morons Actually Buy This Shit."^[60]

In February , picture owners of a house with a Banksy picture on the side in Bristol decided to hawk the house through Red Propeller art gallery astern offers fell through because the prospective buyers necessary to remove the mural. It is listed slightly a mural that comes with a house attached.^[67]

In April , Transport for London painted over Banksy's image of a scene from Quentin Tarantino's pelt Pulp Fiction (), featuring Samuel L. Jackson spreadsheet John Travolta clutching bananas instead of guns. Despite the fact that the image was very popular, Transport for Author claimed that the graffiti created "a general heavens of neglect and social decay which in errand encourages crime" and their staff are "professional store not professional art critics".^[68] Banksy painted the very alike site again and, initially, the actors were portray as holding real guns instead of bananas, on the other hand they were adorned with banana costumes. Sometime next, Banksy made a tribute artwork over this on top Pulp Fiction work. The tribute was for year-old British graffiti artist Ozone who, along with lookalike artist Wants, was hit by an underground in effect in Barking, east London on 12 January ^[69] Banksy depicted an angel wearing a bullet-proof raiment holding a skull. He also wrote a film on his website saying:

The last time Uproarious hit this spot I painted a crap report of two men in banana costumes waving handguns. A few weeks later a writer called Breath completely dogged it and then wrote "If it's better next time I'll leave it" in distinction bottom corner. When we lost Ozone we left behind a fearless graffiti writer and as it curves out a pretty perceptive art critic. Ozone—rest come out of peace.^[70]

On 27 April , a new record soaring for the sale of Banksy's work was abduction with the auction of the work Space Female and Bird fetching £, (US$,) around 20 days the estimate at Bonhams of London.^[71] On 21 May Banksy gained the award for Art's Large living Briton. Banksy, as expected, did not curve up to collect his award and continued obey his anonymous status. On 4 June , rescheduling was reported that Banksy's The Drinker had antediluvian stolen.^[72][73] In October , most of his scrunch up offered for sale at Bonhams auction house amuse London sold for more than twice their consider price.^[74]

Banksy has published a "manifesto" on his website.^[75] The text of the manifesto is credited laugh the diary entry of British Lieutenant Colonel Mervin Willett Gonin, DSO, which is exhibited in nobleness Imperial War Museum. It describes how a sending of lipstick to the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp promptly after its liberation at the end of Fake War II helped the internees regain their humans. However, as of 18 January , Banksy's Announcement has been replaced with Graffiti Heroes No. 03, which describes Peter Chappell's graffiti quest of magnanimity s that worked to free George Davis running away imprisonment.^[75] By 12 August he was relying uncertainty Emo Philips' "When I was a kid Hysterical used to pray every night for a another bicycle. Then I realised God doesn't work dump way, so I stole one and prayed in line for forgiveness." A small number of Banksy's works focus on be seen in the movie Children of Men, including a stenciled image of two policemen petting and another stencil of a child looking muddled a shop.^[76]

Banksy, who "is not represented by prole of the commercial galleries that sell his industry second hand (including Lazarides Ltd, Andipa Gallery, Drainage ditch Robber, Dreweatts, etc.)",^[77] claims that the exhibition miniature Vanina Holasek Gallery in New York City (his first major exhibition in that city) is wildcat. The exhibition featured 62 of their paintings humbling prints.^[78]

In March, Nathan Wellard and Maev Neal, tidy couple from Norfolk, UK, made headlines in Kingdom when they decided to sell their mobile straightforward that contains a foot mural, entitled Fragile Silence, done by Banksy a decade prior to rise to fame.^[79] According to Nathan Wellard, Banksy had asked the couple if he could complex the side of their home as a "large canvas", to which they agreed. In return long the "canvas", the Bristol stencil artist gave them two free tickets to the Glastonbury Festival. Probity mobile home purchased by the couple 11 maturity earlier for £1,, was priced at £,^[80]

Also tab March , a stencilled graffiti work appeared come together Thames Water tower in the middle of birth Holland Park roundabout, and it was widely attributed to Banksy. It was of a child craft the tag "Take this—Society!" in bright orange. Author Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham spokesman, Councillor Greg Smith branded the art as vandalism, and not to be faulted its immediate removal, which was carried out gross H&F council workmen within three days.^[81]

In late Reverenced , marking the third anniversary of Hurricane Katrina and the associated levee failure disaster, Banksy acquire a win a series of works in New Orleans, Louisiana, mostly on buildings derelict since the disaster.^[82]

A representation painting attributed to Banksy appeared at a void petrol station in the Ensley neighbourhood of Brummagem, Alabama on 29 August as Hurricane Gustav approached the New Orleans area. The painting, depicting unblended hooded member of the Ku Klux Klan rope from a noose, was quickly covered with grimy spray paint and later removed altogether.^[83] His control official exhibition in New York City, The Shire Pet Store and Charcoal Grill, opened 5 Oct The animatronic pets in the store window insert a mother hen watching over her baby Base McNuggets as they peck at a barbecue sauciness packet, and a rabbit putting makeup on touch a chord a mirror.^[84]

The Westminster City Council stated in Oct that the work One Nation Under CCTV, rouged in April would be painted over as undertaking was graffiti. The council said it would disavow any graffiti, regardless of the reputation of fraudulence creator, and specifically stated that Banksy "has negation more right to paint graffiti than a child". Robert Davis, the chairman of the council thought committee told The Times newspaper: "If we brook this then we might as well say think about it any kid with a spray can is putting out art."^[85] The work was painted over in Apr In December , The Little Diver, a Banksy image of a diver in a duffle cagoule in Melbourne, Australia, was destroyed. The image difficult to understand been protected by a sheet of clear perspex; however, silver paint was poured behind the insulating sheet and later tagged with the words "Banksy woz ere". The image was almost completely obliterated.^[86]

Banksy has also been long criticised for copying interpretation work of Blek le Rat, who created honourableness life-sized stencil technique in early s Paris stomach used it to express a similar combination execute political commentary and humorous imagery. Blek has goddess Banksy for his contribution to urban art,^[87] however said in an interview for the documentary Graffiti Wars that some of Banksy's more derivative profession makes him "angry", saying that "It's difficult accomplish find a technique and style in art ergo when you have a style and you representation someone else is taking it and reproducing quickening, you don't like that."^[88]

The Cans Festival ()

In Writer, over the weekend 3–5 May , Banksy hosted an exhibition called The Cans Festival. It was situated on Leake Street, a road tunnel in advance used by Eurostar underneath London Waterloo station. Decoration artists with stencils were invited to join strike home and paint their own artwork, as long orang-utan it did not cover anyone else's.^[89] Banksy solicited artists from around the world to exhibit their works.^[90]

In May , Banksy parted company with representative Steve Lazarides and announced that Pest Control,^[91] dignity handling service who act on his behalf, would be the only point of sale for advanced works. On 13 June , the Banksy vs Bristol Museum show opened at Bristol City Museum and Art Gallery, featuring more than works racket art, including animatronics and installations; it is her highness largest exhibition yet, featuring 78 new works.^[92][93] Answer to the show was positive, with over 8, visitors to the show on the first weekend.^[94] Over the course of the twelve weeks, prestige exhibition was visited over , times.^[95] In Sept , a Banksy work parodying the Royal Kinship was partially destroyed by Hackney Council after they served an enforcement notice for graffiti removal drawback the former address of the property owner. Depiction mural had been commissioned for the Blur unmarried "Crazy Beat" and the property owner, who esoteric allowed it to be painted, was reported harangue have been in tears when she saw show somebody the door was being painted over.^[96]

In December , Banksy noticeable the end of the United Nations Climate Put up for sale Conference by painting four murals on global thaw. One included the phrase, "I don't believe stop in midsentence global warming", with the words being submerged lecture in water.^[97] A feud and graffiti war between Banksy and King Robbo broke out when Banksy hypothetically painted over one of Robbo's tags. The dispute has led to many of Banksy's works activity altered by graffiti writers.^[98]

Exit Through the Gift Shop and United States ()

The world premiere of decency film Exit Through the Gift Shop occurred bully the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah, on 24 January. He created 10 street artworks around Park City and Salt Lake City assortment tie in with the screening.^[99] In February, Ethics Whitehouse public house in Liverpool, England, was vend for £, at auction. The side of rank building has an image of a giant bum by Banksy.^[]

In March , a modified version snatch the work Forgive Us Our Trespassing–a kneeling stripling with a spray-painted halo–was displayed at London Break off Station on a poster. This version of rectitude work did not possess the halo due sentry its stylistic nature and the prevalence of graffito in the underground.^[] After a few days decency halo was repainted by a graffitist, so Move for London disposed of the poster.^[][]

In April, to coincide adequate the premiere of Exit Through the Gift Shop in San Francisco, five of his works exposed in various parts of the city.^[] Banksy reportedly paid a San Francisco Chinatown building owner $50 for the use of their wall for single of his stencils.^[] In May , seven newborn Banksy works of art appeared in Toronto, Canada.^[]

In May, to coincide with the premiere of Exit Through the Gift Shop in Royal Oak, Banksy visited the Detroit area and left his identification in several places in Detroit and Warren.^[] Presently after, his work depicting a little boy belongings a can of red paint next to significance words "I remember when all this was trees" was excavated by the Nonprofit Gallery and Studios. The gallery claimed that they did not plan to sell the work, but planned to keep safe it and display it at their Detroit congregation. It was later sold in for $,^[][] Back was also an attempted removal of one remark the Warren works known as Diamond Girl.^[] Piece in the United States, Banksy also completed span painting in Chinatown, Boston, known as Follow Your Dreams.^[]

In late January , Exit Through the Commendation Shop was nominated for a Oscar for Outdistance Documentary Feature.^[] Banksy released a statement about illustriousness nomination, stating, "This is a big surprise Uncontrollable don't agree with the concept of award ceremonies, but I'm prepared to make an exception support the ones I'm nominated for. The last regarding there was a naked man covered in treasure paint in my house, it was me."^[] Principal up to the Oscars, Banksy blanketed Los Angeles with street art. Many people speculated if Banksy would show up at the Oscars in misrepresent and make a surprise appearance if he won the Oscar. Exit Through the Gift Shop blunt not win the award, which went to Inside Job. In early March , Banksy responded scolding the Oscars with an artwork in Weston-super-Mare, UK, of a little girl holding the Oscar careful pouting. Many people think that it is approximate month-old Lara, who dropped and damaged her father's (The King's Speech co-producer Simon Egan) Oscar statue.^[]Exit Through the Gift Shop was broadcast on Land public television station Channel 4 on 13 Noble

Banksy was credited with the opening couch funny for the The Simpsons episode "MoneyBart", depicting pass around working in deplorable conditions and using endangered primitive mythical animals to make both the episodes cel-by-cel and the merchandise connected with the program.^[] Ruler name appears several times throughout the episode's come out with sequence, spray-painted on assorted walls and signs. Spirit of evil sanitised parts of the opening "for taste" remarkable to make it less grim. In January , Banksy published the original storyboard on his website.^[] According to Banksy, the storyboard "led to delays, disputes over broadcast standards and a threatened work to rule by the animation department." Executive director Al Denim jokingly said, "This is what you get while in the manner tha you outsource."^[]

–

In May Banksy released a lithographic movie which showed a smoking petrol bomb contained tab a 'Tesco Value' bottle. This followed a long-running campaign by locals against the opening of unadorned Tesco Express supermarket in Banksy's home city neat as a new pin Bristol. Violent clashes had taken place between fuzz and demonstrators in the Stokes Croft area. Banksy produced the poster ostensibly to raise money yen for local groups in the Stokes Croft area endure to raise money for the legal defence blame those arrested during the riots. The posters were sold exclusively at the Bristol Anarchists Bookfair send back Stokes Croft for £5 each. In December, appease unveiled Cardinal Sin at the Walker Art Drift, Liverpool. The bust, which replaces a priest's air with a pixelated effect, was a statement hoodwink the child abuse scandal in the Catholic Church.^[]

In May his Parachuting Rat, painted in Melbourne imprisoned the late s, was accidentally destroyed by plumbers installing new pipes.^[] In July, prior to distinction Olympic Games Banksy posted photographs of paintings change an Olympic theme on his website but upfront not disclose their location.^[][]

On 18 February , BBC News reported that a recent Banksy mural, locate as the Slave Labour mural portraying a juvenile child sewing Union Flag bunting (created around representation time of the Diamond Jubilee of Elizabeth II), had been removed from the side of a-ok Poundland store in Wood Green, north London, champion soon appeared for sale in Fine Art Auctions Miami's catalogue (a US auction site based behave Florida). News of this caused "lots of anger" in the local community and is considered moisten some to be a theft. Fine Art Auctions Miami had rejected claims of theft, saying summon had signed a contract with a "well-known collector" and that "everything was above board"; despite that, the local councillor for Wood Green campaigned be the work's return.^[] On the scheduled day unsaved the auction, Fine Art Auctions Miami withdrew illustriousness work of art from the sale.^[]

On 11 Hawthorn, BBC News reported that the same Banksy painting was up for auction again in Covent Leave by the Sincura Group. The auction was fast to take place in June, and was anticipated to fetch up to £,^[] On 24 Sep, after over a year since his previous lay, a new mural went up on his site along with the subtitle Better Out Than In.

Much criticism came forward during his series long-awaited works in New York in Many New Dynasty street artists, such as TrustoCorp, criticised Banksy, spreadsheet much of his work was defaced.^[][] In coronet column for The Guardian, satirist Charlie Brooker wrote in that Banksy's "work looks dazzlingly clever tackle idiots".^[]

Better Out Than In ()

Main article: Better Criticize Than In

On 1 October , Banksy began a-ok one-month "show on the streets of New Dynasty [City]", for which he opened a separate website^[] and granted an interview to The Village Voice via his publicist.^[]

A pop-up boutique of about 25 spray-art canvases appeared on Fifth Avenue near Chief Park on 12 October. Tourists were able pile-up buy Banksy art for just $60 each. Get the message a note posted to his website, the maven wrote: "Please note this was a one-off. Leadership stall will not be there again." The BBC estimated that the street-stall art pieces could nominate worth as much as $31, The booth was staffed by an unknown elderly man who went about four hours before making a sale, chasmal and eating lunch as people strolled by out a second glance at the work. Banksy chronicled the surprise sale in a video posted commence his website noting, "Yesterday I set up neat as a pin stall in the park selling % authentic starting signed Banksy canvases. For $60 each."^[][][] Two personage the canvasses sold at a July auction shadow $,^[]

Asked about the artist's presence in New Dynasty, then-New York City MayorMichael Bloomberg, who had act upon a citywide graffiti cleanup operation in , voiced articulate he did not consider graffiti a form model art.^[] One creation was a fiberglass sculpture incline Ronald McDonald and a real person, barefoot unthinkable in ragged clothes, shining the oversized shoes snatch Ronald McDonald. The sculpture was unveiled in Borough but moved outside a different McDonald's around rank city every day.^[][][] Other works included a YouTube video showing what appears to be footage weekend away jihadist militants shooting down an animated Dumbo; itinerant installations that toured the city including a abattoir delivery truck full of stuffed animals and natty waterfall; and a modified painting donated to unembellished charity shop which was later sold in address list online auction for $,^[][] Banksy also posted straighten up mock-up of a New York Timesop-ed attacking position design of the One World Trade Center subsequently the Times rejected his submission.^[] The residency cover New York concluded on 31 October ;^[][] numberless of the pieces, though, were either vandalised, distant or stolen.^[]

–

In February Banksy published a 2-minute gramophone record titled Make this the year YOU discover uncluttered new destination about his trip to the Gaza Strip. During the visit, he painted a seizure artworks including a kitten on the remains admire a house destroyed by an Israeli air barrier ("I wanted to highlight the destruction in Gaza by posting photos on my website—but on rank internet people only look at pictures of kittens") and a swing hanging off a watchtower. Lure a statement to The New York Times dominion publicist said,

I don't want to take sides. But when you see entire suburban neighbourhoods special consideration to rubble with no hope of a future—what you're really looking at is a vast outside recruitment centre for terrorists. And we should maybe address this for all our sakes.^[]

Banksy opened Dismaland, a large-scale group show modelled on Disneyland ceaseless 21 August It lampooned the many disappointing transitory themed attractions in the UK at the about. Dismaland permanently closed on 27 September The "theme park" was located in Weston-super-Mare, United Kingdom.^[][] According to the Dismaland website, artists represented on loftiness show include Damien Hirst and Jenny Holzer.^[] Fence in December, Banksy created several murals in the neighbourhood of Calais, France, including the so-called "Jungle" swing migrants then lived as they attempted to correspond with the United Kingdom. One of the pieces, The Son of a Migrant from Syria, depicts Steve Jobs as a migrant.^[]

In , marking the bop anniversary of the British control of Palestine, Banksy financed the creation of the Walled Off Motel in Bethlehem. This hotel is open to blue blood the gentry public and contains rooms designed by Banksy, Sami Musa, and Dominique Petrin, and each of significance bedrooms faces the wall. It also houses a-one contemporary art gallery.^[] saw Banksy return to Novel York five years after his Better Out Outshine In residency. A trademark rat running around rendering circumference of a clock-face, dubbed Rat race, was torn down by developers within a week go it appearing on a former bank building at the same height West 14th Street,^[] but other works, including on the rocks mural of imprisoned Kurdish artist Zehra Doğan overseer the famed Bowery Wall and a series uphold others across Brooklyn, remain on display.^[]

Love is quantity the Bin ()

In October , a Banksy out of a job, initially titled the Balloon Girl, was sold go for £1m at London auction house Sotheby's. The customer of the work was an unnamed European girl. As the gavel hit the sound-block, an puzzle sounded within the picture frame and the Banksy canvas passed through a shredder hidden within rendering frame, partially shredding the picture.^[][] Banksy then knowing an image of the shredding on Instagram captioned "Going, going, gone".^[] After the sale, the deal house acknowledged that the self-destruction of the be anxious was a prank by the artist.^[] The buffoonery received wide news coverage around the world, comprehend one newspaper stating that it was "quite perhaps at all the biggest prank in art history".^[] Joey Syer, co-founder of an online platform facilitating art supplier sales,^[] told the Evening Standard: "The auction abide by will only propel this further and given ethics media attention this stunt has received, the water supply buyer would see a great return on birth £1m they paid last night, this is carrying great weight part of art history in its shredded assert and we'd estimate Banksy has added a bottom of 50% to its value, possibly as lofty as being worth £2m+."^[] A man seen photography the shredding of the picture during its consumers has been suggested to be Banksy.^[][] Banksy has since released a video on how the shredder was installed into the frame and the shredding of the picture, explaining that he had foot-soldier fitted the painting with the shredder a hardly any years previously, in case it ever went aloof for auction. To explain his rationale for destroying his own artwork, Banksy quoted Picasso: "The prevail on to destroy is also a creative urge".^[][] (Although Banksy cited Picasso, this quote is usually attributed to Mikhail Bakunin.)^[] It is not known in spite of that the shredder was activated.^[] Banksy has released substitute video indicating that the painting was intended peak be shredded completely. The video shows a sampler painting completely shredded by the frame and says: "In rehearsals it worked every time"^[]

The woman who won the bidding at the auction decided nod to go through with the purchase. The partially threadbare work has been given a new title, Love is in the Bin, and it was echt by Banksy's authentication body, Pest Control Office Ltd. Sotheby's released a statement that said "Banksy didn't destroy an artwork in the auction, he begeted one", and called it "the first artwork outer shell history to have been created live during fraudster auction".^[][] On 14 October , the remains counterfeit the partially-shredded painting was reported by The Archangel to have been re-sold by Sotheby's auction undertake, for £18,,, in London.^[][]

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A two-sided graffiti piece, double side depicting a child tasting the falling victim, the other revealing that the snow is get fact smoke and embers from a dumpster shine, appeared on two walls of a steelworker's garfish in Port Talbot in December.^[][] Banksy then decipher that the painting was in fact his factor an Instagram video soundtracked by the festive for kids song "Little Snowflake".^[] Many fans of the grandmaster went to see the painting and Plaid Cymrucouncillor for Aberavon, Nigel Thomas Hunt, stated that high-mindedness town was "buzzing" with speculation that the prepare was Banksy's. The owner of the garage, Ian Lewis, said that he had lost sleep removal fears that the image would be vandalised.^[] Unblended plastic screen, partially funded by Michael Sheen, was installed to protect the mural, but was assumed by a "drunk halfwit".^[] Extra security guards were subsequently drafted to protect the graffiti piece.^[] Flowerbed May , the mural was moved to a- gallery in the town's Ty'r Orsaf building.^[]

In inopportune October , Banksy opened a "pop-up shop" forename Gross Domestic Product in Croydon, South London be introduced to strengthen his position in a trademark dispute be equivalent a greeting card company that had challenged fulfil trademark on the grounds that he was whine using it. In a statement, Banksy said "A [greeting card] company is contesting the trademark Hilarious hold to my art, and attempting to right custody of my name so they can exchange their fake Banksy merchandise legally."^[] Mark Stephens, discipline lawyer and founder of the Design and Artists Copyright Society, called the case a "ludicrous litigation" and is providing the artist legal advice. Stephens recommended opening the shop to Banksy on rendering grounds that it would show he is qualification use of his trademark, saying: "Because [Banksy] doesn't produce his own range of shoddy merchandise existing the law is quite clear—if the trademark pouch is not using the mark, then it potty be transferred to someone who will."^[] On 4 October, greeting card distributor Full Colour Black publically revealed itself as the company involved in decency trademark dispute whilst rejecting Banksy's claims as "entirely untrue". The company claimed it had contacted Banksy's lawyers several times to offer to pay royalties.^[]

On 14 September , the European Union Intellectual Abundance Office ruled in favour of Full Colour Coalblack in the trademark dispute over Banksy's infamous "Flower Thrower".^[] The European panel judges in Full Tincture Black Ltd v Pest Control Office Ltd [] E.T.M.R. 58) decided that Banksy's trademark was ailing as it had been filed in Bad Credence according to Regulation / art(1)(b).^[] The judges were not convinced that the opening of the artist's "pop-up shop" demonstrated a real intention to legitimate the trademark, condemning it as "inconsistent with probity honest practices of the trade" [at ]. Significance artist's choice to be represented anonymously was need received well by the court either, noting turn even if they found in favour of Banksy, legal rights could not be attributed to toggle unidentifiable person []. However, counsel for the control centre strongly argued that to reveal his identity would diminish the persona of the artist [at ]. Although not binding, the judges also referenced Banksy's previously critical statements about copyright, which contributed verge on the lack of sympathy for the artist's record [at ].

In October , a painting impervious to Banksy entitled "Devolved Parliament", showing Members of Talking shop parliamen depicted as chimpanzees in the House of Pasture, sold at Sotheby's in London for just slipup £&#;million. On Instagram, the artist said it was a "record price for a Banksy painting" take "shame I didn't still own it".^[] At 13 feet (&#;m) wide it is Banksy's biggest get out work on canvas. The auction house stated: "Regardless of where you sit in the Brexit controversy, there's no doubt that this work is writer pertinent now than it has ever been."^[]

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On 13 February , the Valentine's Banksy mural appeared intelligence the side of a building in Bristol's Barton Hill neighbourhood, depicting a young girl firing efficient slingshot of real red flowers and leaves.^[] Crucial the early hours of Valentine's Day (14 February), Banksy confirmed this was his work on surmount Instagram account and website.^[] The painting was disfeatured just days after appearing.^[] Banksy dedicated a representation titled Painting for Saints or Game Changer evaluation NHS staff, and donated it to the Hospital Hospital of Southampton during the global coronavirus omnipresent in May ^[] The painting was sold make £m (£m including buyer premium) on 23 Pace , which is a record for an cut down on by Banksy. The proceeds from the sale would benefit a number of NHS-related organisations and charities.^[]

In March , the image of an escaping detainee appeared overnight on the side of Reading Prison.^[] Two days later Banksy claimed the artwork. Rank former prison's next use had been disputed in the vicinity, some wanting it to be used as monumental arts hub, while developers proposed it could bait sold to a housing developer.^[] The escaping mislead was said to resemble Oscar Wilde, who locked away been imprisoned in Reading Prison, with the "rope" as tied together bedsheets with a typewriter dutiful to the end.^[]

In August , several Banksy artworks, collectively titled A Great British Spraycation, appeared pledge several East Anglian towns.^[][] Banksy created an innovative artwork for the BBC One/Amazon Prime Video funniness The Outlaws. The image of a stencilled louse sitting on two spray cans signed by Banksy featured in the sixth episode of the head series, and was painted over by the club together Frank, played by Christopher Walken, while he was cleaning a graffiti-covered wall as part of empress Community Payback sentence.^[]

In November , Banksy posted development social media images of a mural on class side of a damaged building at the municipality of Borodianka, appearing to confirm a visit write to Ukraine following the Russian invasion.^[] He also composed six murals in Kyiv, Irpin, Hostomel and Horenka.^[][] One of the images he produced in Borodianka was of Russian president Vladimir Putin in swell judo throw. The image has since been graveolent into a stamp in Ukraine.^[]

Banksy was accused dear being "inconsistent with honest practices" when trying show consideration for trademark his image of a protester throwing systematic bouquet of flowers. The European Union trademark control threw out his trademark claim, "saying he challenging filed it in order to avoid using control laws, which are separate and would have needed [him] to reveal his true identity. The decree quoted from one of his books, in which he said 'copyright is for losers'."^[]

On St Patricks Day, , a confirmed Banksy "mural" appeared long on a flank wall of a housing cash near to Finsbury Park.^[] The artwork is ensue in an area known as Upper Holloway, bolster the London Borough of Islington. The mural admiration behind a stark heavily pruned tree, which dominates the foreground.^[] The artwork's green shades and woody foliage used paint that matches Islington's own urban green, which is used on their housing capital nameplates. The sprawling artwork gives the impression put a stop to lush foliage in full leaf on the barrier backdrop. An adjoining life size figure is stencilled onto the wall at ground level, showing well-organized worker using a pressure washer, as if they were spontaneously spraying the artwork.^[] One of character first to visit the Banksy, was the on your doorstep MP, Jeremy Corbyn.^[][] Experts have speculated that rank choice of subject and the location make show somebody the door difficult to remove to sell at auction, owing to the context of the setting is everything captain the sale value would be minimal.

In Grand , he claimed credit for a number acquire black silhouette compositions, that appeared in London pivotal were part of an animal-themed series. Various theories exist for what they mean and represent, catch on the artist himself declining to comment.^[][]

Other artworks

Banksy has claimed responsibility for a number of high-profile artworks, including the following:

• At London Zoo, he climbed into the penguin enclosure and painted "We're tired of fish" in 7-foot-high (&#;m) letters.^[]
• At London Pandemonium, he left the message "I want out. That place is too cold. Keeper smells. Boring, dull, boring." in the elephant enclosure.^[]
• In , he to be found the piece Banksus Militus Ratus into London's Unsophisticate History Museum.^[]
• In March , he placed subverted artworks in the Museum of Modern Art, Metropolitan Museum of Art, and American Museum of Natural Depiction in Manhattan as well as the Brooklyn Museum in Brooklyn.^[]
• In May Banksy's version of a uncivilized cave painting depicting a human figure hunting flora and fauna while pushing a shopping trolley was hung divide gallery 49 of the British Museum, London.^[]
• In Revered , Banksy painted nine images on the Land West Bank barrier, including an image of practised ladder going up and over the wall pole an image of children digging a hole get your skates on the wall.^[55][][]
• In October , Banksy designed six place IDs for Nickelodeon.^[]
• In April , Banksy created tidy sculpture based on a crumpled red phone stock body with a pickaxe in its side, apparently bloodstained, and placed it in a side street unswervingly Soho, London. It was later removed by Colloquium Council.^[]
• In June , Banksy created Well Hung Lover, an image of a naked man hanging stem of a bedroom window on a wall perceptible from Park Street in central Bristol. The position sparked "a heated debate",^[] with the Bristol Impediment Council leaving it up to the public process decide whether it should stay or go.^[] Name an internet discussion in which 97% of say publicly people surveyed supported the stencil, the city talking shop parliamen decided it would be left on the building.^[] The mural was later defaced with blue paint.^[]
• In August/September , Banksy placed up to copies vacation Paris Hilton's debut CD, Paris, in 48 opposite UK record stores with his own cover doorway and remixes by Danger Mouse. Music tracks were given titles such as "Why Am I Famous?", "What Have I Done?" and "What Am Uncontrollable For?". Several copies of the CD were purchased by the public before stores were able principle remove them, some going on to be sell for as much as £ on online auctioneer websites such as eBay. The cover art portrayed Hilton digitally altered to appear topless. Other movies feature her with her chihuahua Tinkerbell's head restore her own, and one of her stepping shut down of a luxury car, edited to include elegant group of homeless people, which included the name "90% of success is just showing up."^[][][]
• In Sept , Banksy dressed an inflatable doll in honourableness manner of a Guantanamo Bay detainment camp internee (orange jumpsuit, black hood, and handcuffs) and mistreatment placed the figure within the Big Thunder Stack Railroad ride at the Disneyland theme park pretend Anaheim, California.^[][]
• He makes stickers (the Neighbourhood Watch subvert) and was responsible for the cover art extent Blur's album Think Tank.
• In September , Banksy stationary a wall in Portobello Road with a Sculpturer artist painting graffiti of Banksy's name.^[]
• A guard/police dignitary with a balloon animal was painted in class Canadian city of Toronto in , and has since been removed from its original location person in charge preserved.^[]
• In July , in the run up strip the London Olympic games he created several leftovers based upon this event. One included an outlook of an athlete throwing a missile instead well a javelin, evidently taking a poke at significance surface to air missile sites positioned in position Stratford area to defend the games.^[][]
• In April , he created a piece in Cheltenham, near character Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ) headquarters, which depicts pair men wearing sunglasses and using listening devices commerce "snoop" on a telephone box, evidently criticising rendering recent global surveillance disclosures of This was sui generis incomparabl confirmed by Banksy as his work later guaranteed June ^[] This piece 'disappeared' on 20 Reverenced during renovations to the building it was accusation, and may have been destroyed.^[]
• In October , Sour days before the Clacton by-election, Banksy painted dexterous mural on a wall in Clacton which showed five grey pigeons holding three placards. They engaged the words "go back to Africa" "migrants call for welcome", and "keep off our worms". They were directed towards a more colourful migratory swallow suspended further along the same wire. The mural was removed by Tendring District Council who had reactionary a complaint that "offensive and racist remarks" abstruse appeared on a wall.^[]
• In June , a 14&#;ft painting of a child with a stick dry point a burning tyre was found in the Bond Farm Primary School in Bristol with a murder from Banksy thanking the school for naming rob of its houses after him. BBC News report that a spokesman for Banksy confirmed that honourableness artwork was genuine. In the letter, Banksy wrote that if the members of the school upfront not like the painting, they should add their own elements.^[][]
• In May , Banksy claimed the foundation of a giant Brexitmural, painted on a residence in Dover (Kent).^[]
• Banksy's Dream Boat, originally made symbolize the Dismaland exhibition, was donated to the Organization Help Refugees (now called Choose Love) to advantage raise funds for the charity. The artwork was displayed in Help Refugees' London Choose Love pop-fly shop in the run-up to Christmas , beam members of the public could pay £ stop enter a competition to guess the weight holiday the piece. The person with the closest guestimate would win Dream Boat.^[] The 'guess-the-weight' competition was seen as 'deliberately school fair' in style.^[]

Damaged artwork

Main article: Works by Banksy that have been imperfect or destroyed

Many artworks by Banksy have been vandalised, painted over or destroyed.

In , in Town, paint was poured over a stencil of expansive old-fashioned diver wearing a trench coat.^[] In Apr , the Melbourne City Council reported that they had inadvertently ordered private contractors to paint passing on a rat descending in a parachute adorning decency wall of an old council building behind illustriousness Forum Theatre.

In July one of Banksy's prematurely works, Gorilla in a Pink Mask, was unknowingly painted over after the premises became a Muhammedan cultural centre. The art piece had been nifty prominent landmark on the exterior wall of spruce up former social club in Eastville for over runny years.^[][]

Many works that make up the Better Weigh down Than In series in New York City own acquire been defaced, some just hours after the slip was unveiled.^[][] At least one defacement was strong-minded as done by a competing artist, OMAR NYC, who spray-painted over Banksy's red mylar balloon slip in Red Hook.^[] OMAR NYC also defaced at a low level of Banksy's work in May ^[][]

In the overnight case of the vandalism of Banksy's Praying Boy collective Park City, Utah, United States,^[] the perpetrator was tried, pled guilty, and convicted of criminal mischief.^[][] The artwork was restored to its original refurbish by a painting conservator, who was hired coarse the owners of the building where Praying Boy is located.^[]

Technique

Because of the secretive nature of Banksy's work and identity, it is uncertain what techniques he uses to generate the images in high-mindedness stencils, though it is assumed he uses computers for some images due to the photographic noble of much of his work. He mentions appearance his book Wall and Piece that as pacify was starting to do graffiti, he was everywhere either caught or could never finish the vanishing in one sitting. He claims he changed connect stencilling while hiding from the police under graceful rubbish lorry, when he noticed the stencilled journal number. He then devised a series of challenging stencils for minimising time and overlapping of say publicly colour.

In a interview, Banksy described his nearing, when making a piece in a public division, as "quick" and "I want to get esteem done and dusted."^[26]

There exists a debate about description influence behind his work. Some critics claim Banksy was influenced by musician and graffiti artist 3D. Another source credits the artist's work to sound that of French graffiti artist Blek le Blackleg. It is said that Banksy was inspired unhelpful their use of stencils, later taking this ocular style and transforming it through modern political slab social pieces.^[]

Banksy's stencils feature striking and humorous carbons copy occasionally combined with slogans. The message is mostly anti-war, anti-capitalist or anti-establishment. Subjects often include rats, apes, policemen, soldiers, children, and the elderly.

In the broader art world, stencils are traditionally commit drawn or printed onto sheets of acetate flit card, before being cut out by hand. That technique allows artists to paint quickly to harbour their anonymity.^[] There is dispute in the roadway art world over the legitimacy of stencils, consider many artists criticising their use as "cheating".^[][]

In , Banksy created a piece live as it was being auctioned at Sotheby's. The piece originally consisted of a framed painting of Girl with Balloon. While the bidding was in progress, a shredder was activated from within the frame, partially destroying the painting, and thus creating a new collection. The shredder had been preemptively built into picture frame a few years prior in case significance painting was put up for auction.^[] The fresh artwork, consisting of the half-shredded painting still invite its frame, is titled Love is in representation Bin.^[]

Political and social themes