Image via Banksy
In a coup for Melbourne, Federation Square will be transformed into the streets of London this summer, in an interactive exhibition showcasing the work of subversive street artist Banksy. A rotating roster of food trucks, DJs and work by local street artists will enhance the festival vibe.
The exhibition does not have the blessing of Banksy himself but will feature over 80 privately owned works, including stencil works, screen prints and several pieces that have never been seen in public.
Curator and Banksy’s former agent Steve Lazarides said, ‘This exhibition is a one off – never will you be able to see this amount of work in one place again. Once the show is over, the artwork will dissipate back to the other 40 collectors around the world, and the likelihood of them being brought together again in the future is very slim.’
Lazarides hopes Banksy isn’t happy with the retrospective. ‘Hell yeah. I hope so. Banksy and I haven’t spoken for over a year. He’s not the kind of guy who is ever going to do a retrospective. I started looking at his paintings and a lot of them have more relevance now than when they were painted. I think it’s good to get it back out there and for people to start talking about things,’ Lazarides told Broadsheet.
In case you aren’t familiar with some of the prolific artist’s more subversive works, we’ve compiled his top ten pieces over the last decades.
1. Shop until you drop, Mayfair, London 2011
Image via Wikipedia Commons
Located seven metres off the ground, this is one of the best preserved pieces of Banksy’s artwork. It is situated in an upmarket shopping district in Mayfair, London, and provokes ample discussion about consumerism.
Banksy has said ‘We can’t do anything to change the world until capitalism crumbles. In the meantime we should all go shopping to console ourselves.’
2. The Girl with the Pierced Eardrum, Bristol 2014
Image via Wikipedia Commons
An homage to Vermeer’s Girl with a Pearl Earring trades the famous earring for a yellow alarm box. It was damaged with a splatter of dark paint only hours after being discovered.
3. Hitchhiker Anywhere, Archway, London 2005
Justinc via Wikimedia Commons
Banksy’s Hitchhiker Anywhere, gained notoriety for being the site of a turf war between Banksy and fellow street artist Robbo. The piece was one of Banksy’s longest standing works at nearly six years. The work, which appeared in London’s Archway, stood opposite a McDonalds on Junction Road from 2005 until it faced its final fate in 2011.
The piece depicts Charles Manson’s attempting to hitch a ride to “Anywhere.” Hitchhiker was one of the many works altered by Team Robbo in North London, due to the pair’s turf war, which began in 2010. The sign with the word “Anywhere,” which was originally black and white, was soon replaced by “Going Nowhere” in red. Local authorities removed the alteration, leaving the subject holding a blank sign. The work had been fading due to weathering and remained up despite the authorities’ blackout of Team Robbo’s efforts. Clearly upset that the alteration was removed but the piece left standing, Team Robbo took matters into their own hands and ragged the entire work with white paint.
4. Palestinian series, 2005
Markus Ortner, via Wikimedia Commons
Banksy took a trip to Palestine back in 2005 and chose the West Bank Wall, a 425-mile barrier that separates Palestine and Israel, as his next canvas. Banksy took his chances with the armed guard protecting the wall, completing nine illustrations. Banksy reportedly painted while guards trained their guns on him from a distance, and he even had an encounter with a local resident who said, “We don’t want it to be beautiful. We hate this wall. Go home.”
5. New York residency, 2013
Image via Wikipedia Commons.
As part of Banksy’s month-long ‘residency’ on the streets of New York, where he posted a new work every day, the street artist stencilled a man with wilting flowers waiting in vain at the door of a the Hustler Club, a famous strip club in Hell’s Kitchen, New York. On Banksy’s website, the piece is accompanied by the caption ‘Waiting in vain… at the door of the club.’
6. Girl and balloon, South Bank, London 2007
Image via Wikipedia Commons.
One of the most recognisable and copied works, the message is clearly etched in the wall beside this London piece. Another Banksy image of Girl and Balloon, painted onto the cardboard backing of an Ikea frame, sold at auction for £73,250 in 2012.
7. Spy Booth, Cheltenham 2014
Image by Duncan Hull
This mural first appeared on a house in Fairview Road, Cheltenham, in 2014, near the GCHQ, where the UK’s surveillance network is based. Last year, the building was awarded official status when the Cheltenham Borough Council granted retrospective planning permission. The house itself has been put up for sale, while the mural itself has been cut down.
8. Cardinal Sin, on display at the Walker Art Gallery in Liverpool, 2012
Image via Wikipedia Commons
A bust with its face sawn off and replaced by blank tiles, Cardinal Sin was designed as a response to the child abuse scandal in the Catholic church. In a statement, Banksy said: ‘I’m never sure who deserves to be put on a pedestal or crushed under one.
‘I love everything about the Walker Gallery – the Old Masters, the contemporary art, the rude girl in the cafe. And when I found out Mr Walker built it with beer money, it became my favourite gallery,’ said Banksy.
The replica 18th Century bust is now in a room with an altarpiece painted for the Archbishop of Seville by the Spanish artist Murillo in 1673, and Rubens’ painting The Virgin and Child with St Elizabeth and the Child Baptist.
9. Olympic pieces, London, 2012
Image via Wikipedia Commons
When London hosted the Summer Olympic Games in 2012, Banksy, along with other street artists, took the opportunity to be part of the historic moment. A range of new works were unveiled around the city on July 23, including a stark critique on child labour. The piece was later mysteriously removed and placed in auction with an asking price of AU$500,000 to AU$700,000.
10. Guantanamo Bay, Disneyland, Los Angeles, 2006
Image via Banksy,com
In one of his most daring stunts, Banksy places a life-sized replica of a Guantanamo Bay refugee inside a display of Wild West scenery inside Disneyland. The work lasted just an hour and a half before various parts of the park were shut down. Banksy was reputedly able to escape authorities by changing his clothes in a bathroom.
