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| Banksy in NY |
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It was days before anyone realised his latest project – A Village Pet Store and Charcoal Grill on 7th Avenue, New York – was anything other than it purported to be. Several passers-by complained about the lack of space for leopard and monkey in the front window before it emerged the creatures – including a mother hen watching over baby chicken McNuggets – were animatronic and "a statement on our relationship with animals and ethics". The exhibition is quintessentially Banksy: funny, quirky, right-on and riddled with contradictions. For a start, the work of a street artist is, by definition, ephemeral. Yet as the Banksy bandwagon has gained momentum he has created more lasting work in an attempt to secure his legacy. Also street artists are outsiders whose purpose is to challenge the hegemony. Yet Banksy has been embraced by many of those who are the butt of his scathing social comment. Feted by celebrities, including Brangelina and Damien Hirst, his works now change hands for tens of thousands of pounds. Banksy gets the irony and exploits it, satirising the incongruity of his own celebrity status. When one of his paintings sold for £102,000 at Sotheby's last year, he posted an image, showing people bidding for a painting of the words: "I Can't Believe You Morons Actually Buy This Shit" on his website. The accusations of hypocrisy, however, he counters by insisting he gives away much of what he earns. |
