The 2004 Santa’s Ghetto was located in a run-down former porn shop on 121 Charing Cross Road, next to Foyles bookshop in Central London. The pop-up art exhibition opened daily from 10am to 8pm until Christmas Eve.
It contained intriguing new works from all of the artists on Pictures of Walls. Banksy participated with a few modified oils and the first version of Napalm. The counterfeit ten-pound notes featuring Lady Di, also referred to as the Di-Faced tenners, saw the light.
The last of the small black books, Cut It Out, was launched at the exhibition.
Of particular interest were the modified oil paintings, some of which reappeared the following year at the Crude Oils exhibition. Here, three examples in clockwise order: Silent Night, Congestion Charging, and Countryside CCTV.
Cut it Out was launched during Santa’s Ghetto 2004 and was the last of the three little black books. It has some interesting street art, loads of rats, and a few lovely canvases. Among them is “Suicide bombers just need a hug” from the Turf War exhibition.
“White House Rat” in LiverpoolThe longest painting in BriitainSuicide bombers just need a hug
On 7 April, Banksy entered the Natural History Museum disguised as an employee. He carried a taxidermied rat in a glass-fronted box. The rat wears sunglasses and a complete graffiti kit. Apparently, the rat has sprayed “Our time will come” on the wall behind him. The installation comes with a printed explanation titled Pest Control.
London was the main focus of street art activity in 2004. But, also two pieces in Brighton and two in Somerset. There were only two pieces outside the UK in 2004, one documented in Berlin and another in Chicago. One of Banksy’s most iconic pieces goes up in Southbank: The girl with the red balloon.
Photos: “Wall and piece”.
THE WHITE HOUSE RAT. LIVERPOOL, 18 SEPTEMBER 2004
‘Whitehouse Rat’ by Banksy is probably the largest of his artworks, all categories, painted in broad daylight in Liverpool’s Chinatown. The artwork, which in its original form depicted a giant rat holding a marker pen, spanned nearly 200 square meters of a building that had previously housed the Whitehouse Pub, which quickly led to the piece being referred to by the press as ‘The Whitehouse Rat’.
The artwork was timed to coincide with the September 2004 Liverpool Biennial, which Banksy invited himself to, by painting a host of works throughout the city during the prestigious art fair.
Photo: TimS on Flickr
JUSTICE UNVEILED. LONDON, 4 AUGUST 2004
A few months later, on 4 August 2004, Banksy installed another massive sculpture in London; the figure of justice overlooking the Old Bailey in London – with US dollar bills stuffed into her garter and a plaque on the plinth saying: “Trust no-one”.
In February 2004, Banksy installed a statue in Princess Circus, a small square in central London. The statue is called The Drinker, a caricature of Augustin Rodin’s famous sculpture, The Thinker. A few weeks later, the statue was stolen by self-proclaimed “art terrorist” Andy Link.
The Drinker by Banksy. Photo: The Guardian
JAMAICA AND CUBA. JANUARY, 2004
In early 2004, a group from Team Banksy went to the Caribbean together with DJ Jon Carter and filmmaker Rick Elgood. One of their hosts during the visit was Jamaican dancehall star Mark Anthony Myrie, a.k.a. Buju Banton. There is very little documented from the trip to Jamaica and even less from Cuba. The following collage with pictures of some of the work in Jamaica surfaced years later, when Steven Lazarides put part of his personal collection up for sale at Juliens in LA:
Photo: From Lazarides / Julien’s
The Jamaican magazine/blog Afflicted Yard published a few photos in 2004 of Team Banksy at work in Jamaica:
Photo to the left: Rick Elgood, R, unknown and Buju Banton holding the sticker. Photo to the right: R sorting out the stencils
Banksy unofficial 