some sort of Banksy retrospective
In a brilliant performance, an unknown poet in the style of John Cooper Clarke recites a poem on the theme “Gentrification is coming because there is a Banksy in Margate now”, accompanied by a distorted guitar. Apparently, the clip was filmed during an open mic session at a pub in Margate. The clip can be seen at https://www.instagram.com/p/Cp5WlIWP4e6/
Photos: @banksy
The artwork appeared on the side of a derelict farmhouse in the seaside town Herne Bay, only 20 km from Margate, where he did Valentine’s day mascara a month ago. The demolition of the house, including the mural, can be interpreted in many ways.
Photos: @banksy, and @banksygrossdomesticproduct
Photos: @banksy
The Valentine’s day mascara mural appeared in Margate, 100 km east of London, on Tuesday morning, 14 February. The Guardian reported on the dismantling of the artwork the same day:
“A Banksy artwork that was dismantled by a council in Kent “on the grounds of safety” just hours after its unveiling has had its chest freezer returned. The mural, titled Valentine’s Day Mascara, appeared to highlight the issue of domestic violence. It incorporated a freezer, a broken garden chair, a blue crate and an empty beer bottle, which were all removed from the site on Tuesday.”
Why a domestic violence motive on Valentine’s day? It could have something to do with the big street art exhibition Beyond the Streets at Saatchi Gallery in London, which opened on 17 February with more than 50 of Banksy’s street art colleagues participating, among them Shepard Fairey and 3D. As we all know, advertising tycoon Charles Saatchi is the founder and owner of Saatchi Gallery, and Banksy’s views on the advertising industry are well known through his artwork and writings. In 2013, writer Nigella Lawson broke up with Charles Saatchi amidst well-publicized accusations of domestic violence.
Fashion retailer GUESS was forced to shut their Regent Street outlet on 18 November, a few hours after Banksy posted the following message on Instagram: “They’ve helped themselves to my artwork without asking, how can it be wrong for you to do the same to their clothes?”
In November 2022, Guess announced their collaboration with Brandalised, a company that specializes in selling licenses for popular images to international retailers. This wretched use of Banksy’s art is possible thanks to an unfavourable ruling at the EUIPO – European Union Intellectual Property Office – in May 2021.
Photos: @banksy and http://www.guess.com
The donation was made public on 4 December at an exhibition curated by Grayson Perry at Bristol Museum. Banksy contributed with the original stencil to the piece he did on the wall of the Reading GAOL prison in March 2021. The idea is that Reading Council now sells the stencil and uses the proceeds to turn the derelict prison into a permanent art centre. It’s expected to fetch up to GBP 10 mn in a private sale. In Banksy’s own words:
“I had very little interest in Reading until I was on a rail replacement bus service that went past the jail. It’s rare to find an uninterrupted 500m-long paintable surface slap bang in the middle of a town; I literally clambered over the passenger next to me to get a closer look. I promised myself I’d paint the wall even before I knew what it was. I’m passionate about it now, though. Oscar Wilde is the patron saint of smashing two contrasting ideas together to create magic. Converting the place that destroyed him into a refuge for art feels so perfect we have to do it.”
After a five-month recess, Banksy is back at it with ten brilliant pieces in Great Yarmouth and Lowestoft, two adjacent towns on the eastern coast not far from Norwich. The pieces went up around 6 August but were confirmed a week later, on 13 August.
Photos: http://www.banksy.co.uk
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The piece depicts Oscar Wilde escaping the Reading GAOL prison with his typewriter knot to the bedsheets. Oscar Wilde had been incarcerated in Reading GAOL prison after being convicted of gross indecency in 1895. Wilde was sentenced to two years of forced labour.
The piece has not yet been confirmed by Banksy’s usual channels, but it seems to be an authentic one. Maybe Banksy’s next big project is a book?
There had been some buzz before the piece appeared on the Banksy website http://www.banksy.co.uk on 10 December around 17h. A few hours later, it was published on the official Instagram account @banksy.
Photographs: http://www.banksy.co.uk
The Guardian commented the artwork a few hours later:
The owners of a house in Bristol have apparently pulled out of the sale of the property after a Banksy piece appeared on the wall. On Thursday, the anonymous street artist confirmed he was behind the artwork showing an older woman sneezing out her false teeth, which has appeared on a semi-detached house in steep Vale Street, Totterdown. The stencil mural, Aachoo!!”, had been covered up before its unveiling on Thursday morning. It shows a woman in a headscarf holding a handkerchief but dropping her walking stick and handbag as she loses her dentures while sneezing.
Vale Street is England’s steepest residential street – its 22-degree slope used during annual Easter Sunday egg-rolling competitions. ITV News West Country spoke to the owners of the house, which had a sold sign up outside, and were told they have pulled out of the sale. They were due to exchange contracts next week but the artwork could see the value of their house rocket.
Nicholas Makin, whose mother Aileen owns the property, said people had been climbing over the house to get a better look at the new piece. He told ITV News West Country that his mother was distressed by the attention and they will take time to consider what to do next.
Fred Loosmore, 28, a furniture maker who until recently rented a room in the house, told the PA Media news agency he had put a clear covering over it for protection. “We wanted to come up because people will deface it, and luckily we’ve got a workshop and a massive piece of acrylic we’ve got left over,” he said.
“When we lived here so many people would come, especially on bikes and stuff because they were trying to do the challenge up the hills. It’s a great spot. The artwork is so nice. It’s so relevant, isn’t it?”
From the Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2020/dec/10/bansky-confirms-he-created-aachoo-artwork-in-bristol
The piece first appeared on social media on 14 October. After a few days of speculations about whether it was done by a local street artist, Banksy confirmed the piece as his on Saturday morning.
The work depicts a girl hula-hooping with a tyre. The tyre once seemed part of the slaughtered bike lock chained at the lamppost beside her.
As always, there are many interpretations to be made. One goes like this: Even if you suffer from the economy and the pandemic, you can find happiness in the little things. Find new uses for obsolete materialism. A simple but powerful advice from stoicism?
According to local residents of Lenton talking to The Guardian, the bike appeared at the scene at the same time as the artwork:
“Surinder Kaur, 42, who runs the beauty salon next to the mural, said the bike had appeared at the same time as the mural. She said within hours the council had rushed to protect the piece by placing clear plastic sheeting over it. Vandals have spray-painted over the plastic two or three times already. Everyone is very excited and many, many people are coming to see the picture,” Kaur said. “Everyone was confused about whether it was real or not real but it’s an amazing picture, it’s amazing art.”
Excerpt from : https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2020/oct/17/banksy-confirms-hula-hoop-girl-mural-in-nottingham-is-his
Photographs: Banksy’s Instagram
The video of the hit was posted on Banksy’s Instagram on 14 July with the title “London Underground – undergoes deep clean”. It depicts Banksy entering an underground train carriage while dressed as a cleanup crew member. Banksy paints a rat sneezing while the other rats struggle to get their masks on. At the end of the clip, we see the words “I get lockdown, but I get up again” sprayed on the carriage doors, referring to Chumbawamba’s hit Tubthumping from 1997.
“Transport for London confirmed on Tuesday evening that the work was removed “some days ago” due to strict anti-graffiti policy, but that it would welcome Banksy to recreate his message “in a suitable location”.
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Banksy unofficial 