some sort of Banksy retrospective
The 2004 Santa’s Ghetto was held at Charing Cross Road. Two modified oils. Banksy’s “counterfeited” ten pound notes with Lady Di see the light.
Photos: http://www.artofthestate.co.uk, Andipa catalogue
Cut it Out was the last of the three little black books. Contains some interesting street art, loads of rats and a few nice canvases. Among them “Suicide bombers just need a hug”, from the Turf War exhibition.
In 2004, probably in October, Banksy entered the Louvre where he hung his own version of Mona Lisa. There is no record of how long the piece lasted.
On April 7, Banksy enters Natural History Museum disguised as an employee. He carries a taxidermied rat in a glass-fronted box. The rat wears sunglasses and a complete graffiti kit. Apparently, he has sprayed “Our time will come” on the wall behind him. The installation comes with a printed explanation titled “Pest Control”. A few years later, Banky will set up his own certification office naming it “Pest Control Office”.
The street art activity during 2004 is mainly focused on London. Two pieces in Brighton, and two in Somerset. There are only two pieces outside the UK in 2004, one piece documented in Berlin and another one in Chicago. One of Banksy’s most iconic pieces goes up in Southbank, “The girl with the red balloon”.
Photos: “Wall and piece”.
Santa’s Ghetto 2003 opened on December 2 in an abandoned store just off Carnaby Street in London. Contained work by Banksy, Jamie Hewlett, Mode 2 and 3D among others. Described by Pictures on Walls as a “festive extravaganza of cheap art and related novelty goods from lowbrow artists and trained vandals”. The launch party attracted Damon Albarn and Alex James of Blur, and star chef Jamie Oliver.
Photos: Wembley Pairs, Flickr
On October 17, Banksy entered Tate Britain disguised as a pensioner and stuck one of his own creations in a vacant slot on one of the gallery’s walls. After a few hours the painting, “Crimewatch UK Has Ruined the Countryside For All of Us”, crashed to the floor and the stunt was discovered.
“To actually go through the process of having a painting selected must be quite boring. It’s a lot more fun to go and put your own one up. It’s all about cutting out the middle man, or the curator in the case of the Tate.”
“I’m kinda into the message that vandalising a painting with police tape is how a lot of people see the world these days. People don’t actually see the world with Constable’s eyes with hay and rivers any more. The amount of paranoia and fear about violent crime and paedophilia makes mine a more accurate drawing of the English landscape we actually live in.”
A caption glued next to the painting read: “This new acquisition is a beautiful example of the neo post-idiotic style. Little is known about Banksy whose work is inspired by cannabis resin and daytime television.”
