‘The Art of Banksy’
Source: contributor’s own photo.
On May 20th, ‘The Art of Banksy’ opened its UK stop on a world tour that has already welcomed 750,000 visitors worldwide. The London exhibition takes place in an underground warehouse in the heart of Covent Garden. Originally scheduled for 2020, the organisers are hoping to mark The Art of Banksy as the must-see show in London’s ‘cultural reopening’. Amanda Andrade summarises her thoughts on the show, its relation to Banksy’s wider oeuvre, and the atmospheric setting of the exhibition.
Visitor at The Art of Banksy, May 2021. Source: contributor’s own photo.
The exhibition has special relevance to UK audiences given that Banksy himself lives and works in the UK. The London Co-Presenter, Sean Sweeney, told press that he believes the London exhibition to be the biggest of all the international stops, with over 100 objects on view. It is the largest touring exhibition of authentic Banksy artworks the UK has ever seen.
In true Banksy-style, the exhibition is not authorised nor curated in collaboration with the elusive artist. The show covers the entire course of Banksy’s 30-year career. Though there is of course some repetition, especially in the print room where curators have placed multiple (too many?) copies of Radar Rats, Morons and Sale Ends Today side by side: there is plenty to see. There are prints, canvases, sculptures and various ephemera, including a section dedicated to Paris Hilton CDs. The art is dated mostly between 1997 and 2008, the period in which Banksy produced his most recognisable and well-known works. The space is loosely organised by chronology, with visitors first seeing Banksy’s early street art. At this point, there is ample wall text introducing the artist and his techniques. As the exhibition progresses, the art is occasionally displayed by medium, with rooms dedicated to both canvas and prints. The organisation feels successful, relying neither too much on chronology nor on theme. A visitor walks away with a sense of the artists’ career, but also the range of his scope. He is Banksy the Street Artist, Banksy Satirist, Banksy the Activist, Banksy the Disturber.
The final room of the exhibition, purpose built for photos. May 2021. Source: contributor’s own photo.
The exhibition concludes with a room that was purpose-built for photos and selfies. Though it would be out of place in a more formal art institution, it suits an artist whose career has been made through a more casual interaction with art and social media. Arguably, Banksy’s 2018 shredding of Girl with Balloon at Sotheby’s London could only have reached its true potential through outrage on Instagram.
The entire warehouse location seems fitting. Like the artist himself, it sits outside the mainstream art world of national museums or upscale galleries. The visitor enters the exhibition through an understated door on a side street, then descend underground to view the art. The space has raw brick, exposed metal and harsh lighting. It is a far cry from the white walls most of us are accustomed to seeing. In fact, most of the walls are completely black. The dark walls, the shadowy corners, the underground basement – it all adds up to a sense of drama and disturbance that suits the art hanging on the walls.
View of the narrow corridor with one-way markers on the ground. May 2021. Source: contributor’s own photo.
To reduce the risk of coronavirus, the exhibition is organised as a one-way path. The 12,000 square foot room has been transformed into a single, curving corridor that weaves back and forth. The result is a constant sense of surprise. Because visitors can only see a couple of works at any given time, rather than everything hanging in an open gallery space, the visitor never knows what might be around the corner. However, the spacing of objects in a single corridor might prove a problem if filled with guests, as bottlenecks are bound to occur in sections where the display is more cramped or the art well-known.
A real strength of the exhibition is its ability to appeal to a casual visitor. Despite his notorious anonymity, Banksy is one of the world’s most discussed contemporary artists. He is widely known, and is cool, and for that reason, this exhibition is likely to attract many visitors who do not typically spend their afternoons in museums. To accommodate these guests, the exhibition includes ample, yet not overwhelming, amounts of wall text explaining various mediums, techniques and even political contexts. Everybody, regardless of their art experience, can appreciate the work.
Yet at the same time, an artist as well-known as Banksy is bound to have many fans who are already incredibly knowledgeable about his work. To be successful, the exhibition must manage to satisfy the young and uninitiated, as well as the most passionate Banksy Buffs. The exhibition appeals to those already knowledgeable by including several rare works that have been hidden from the public eye.
Visitor admiring Brace Yourself (2010) at The Art of Banksy exhibition. Source: contributor’s own photo.
The highlight of the exhibition, in terms of rarity, is Brace Yourself (2010). This painting is exclusive to the London exhibition. It shows the Grim Reaper riding a dodgem and made headlines in 2010 when Banksy gave it to a band in exchange for rights to their name, ‘Exit Through the Gift Shop’. At 245 by 182 cm, it is one of the artists’ largest works. It is given its own wall, dominating it through scale and wit. Other surprises within the exhibition include film posters, autographed books, and sketches. Look out for the hand painted flowers in Love is in the Air, or the understated, but incredibly witty, army helicopter airbrushed on Happy Chopper Crude Oil.
The exhibition succeeds in what it sets out to do – show a diverse range of Banksy works, both in terms of medium and fame. No doubt visitors will walk away with a broader understanding of the artist’s oeuvre, whilst the underground exhibition space is also true to the artist. Like Banksy himself, the show is easily digestible, highly entertaining and unusual. The Art of Banksy will stand apart as London ventures out into culture again.
Tickets on sale now at artofbanksy.co.uk; starting at £21.50 for adults.
Amanda Andrade
Contributor, MADE IN BED