It is not known for sure who he is. Only certain information about banksy are in the public domain and everyone repeats them: what is British, who is an artist graffiti and that he was born in Bristol board In the 70s. From this very distant country, the story of his street, disruptive and political works is just a photo or a video on the screen of our computers.
For this reason, the possibility of seeing an exhibition that dwells on the history of his interventions or shows up close its emblematic figures (your children, your rats, your monkeys) or record in detail larger projects, like your amusement park “Dismaland”is a direct access door to the work of one of the great artists of recent decades.
As the publicity of the event is in charge of pointing out, it is a sample “not” authorized by Banksywhich brings together original works, donated by collectors and with a certificate of authenticity, painted with oil or acrylic, with spray, limited edition serigraphs, stencils on metal or concrete, sculptures, installations, videos and photographs.
It’s also worth clarifying up front, for those hoping for an immersive, “Imagine Van Gogh”installed in the same place in The Rural; that this sample has nothing to do with that.
There is indeed an incredible immersive experience in one of the rooms, where a story of the Banksy works in the foreground and also, in the same spirit, a 3D journey for the milestones of the artist.
The rest is an extensive tour, of traditional paintings, with the main images of his career. A condensation of his political workaccompanying the most important events in the world, from the devastating consequences of Hurricane Katrina to the future of Brexit.
On that journey, humor is always your best tool. In relation to this exhibition, precisely, on the artist’s website, it is pointed out that most of the exhibitions that are carried out on his work are false. That is why he clarifies that if we do not like what we have seen, we do not intend to claim the money for the entrance fee from his office.
One of the most interesting areas of the exhibition is the series of photographs of Banksy’s friend, Steve Lazarides, where we can glimpse a trace of the artist’s silhouette, while he works in the streets. Alongside this series, a reconstruction of his workshop allows us to imagine the preparation of the stencils, the technique that he adopted decades ago to work faster on the streets and thus be able to run away from the police
It is also worth stopping to see the film about “Dismaland”, that garden inspired by “Disneyland”, sinister and decadent, which Banksy built together with dozens of other artists and which he described as “not suitable for boys”.
From the dimly lit black walls where his graffitithe artist’s messages assail us with his constant opposition to capitalism, from an almost naive humanism, tailored to your childhood images. The most famous of them? The girl with balloon that after a auction at Sotheby’swhere it reached a million-dollar sales figure, self-destructed with a paper shredder installed in the frame of the painting.
Delights of mercantilism, the auction house considered that it had been transformed into another work, it changed its name (“Love is in the Bin”, “Love is in the bin”) and gave the buyer the option not to complete the purchase. Of course, after such a show, he confirmed the operation.
When and where
The sample can be seen from this weekend and until October in La Rural, from Tuesday to Friday between 2:00 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. and Saturdays, Sundays and holidays from 10:00 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. Tickets can be purchased online from the event website. The cost is $3,000 during the week and $3,500 on weekends.
Speaking of the exhibition, it is worth saying that it was seen by a million people and that it has toured all over the world, in cities such as New York, Las Vegas, Brussels, Madrid, Barcelona, Milan, Lisbon, Tokyo, Hong Kong. , Osaka, Hiroshima, Moscow and Saint Petersburg, among others.
Image gallery
