A visitor looks at a painting inspired by the art piece 'Boy And Dog In A Johnnypump' by Jean-Michel Basquiat that Banksy made in honour of the late US painter. It is now on displayed at Banksy's solo show 'Cut & Run: 25 Years Card Labour' in Glasgow. Photo: AFP
For years, Banksy has maintained his legendary status by always turning up where he's least expected.
He has once again managed to take the art world by surprise by announcing the opening of an exhibition at Glasgow's Gallery of Modern Art on June 18.
Titled Cut & Run: 25 Years Card Labour, this major exhibition traces Banksy's career, from his beginnings in the 1990s on the walls of Bristol - supposedly his hometown - to the present day.
The superstar street artist recently made headlines with his domestic violence-themed Valentine's Day mural in the English seaside town of Margate.
The retrospective at Glasgow's Gallery of Modern Art revisits some of his most iconic works, exhibiting for the first time the stencils Banksy used to create them.
"I’ve kept these stencils hidden away for years, mindful they could be used as evidence in a charge of criminal damage. But that moment seems to have passed, so now I’m exhibiting them in a gallery as works of art. I’m not sure which is the greater crime," the British artist said in a statement.
An artwork titled 'Slave Labour' by Banksy displayed at the Gallery Of Modern Art in Glasgow. Photo: AFP
According to The Guardian, the Cut & Run: 25 Years Card Labour exhibition also features several of Banksy's high-profile creations. These include the bullet-proof vest customised with the British Union Jack flag that the rapper Stormzy wore on stage at the 2019 Glastonbury Festival, as well as some of Banksy's works on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
One of these, depicting a pillow fight between an Israeli soldier and a hooded Palestinian boy, had notably decorated the walls of the "Walled Off Hotel," a guesthouse overlooking the separation wall in Bethlehem, in the West Bank, which the street artist unveiled to the public in March 2017.
In addition, the show features several original pieces by Banksy, including his own toilet. But the highlight of the show is a mock-up of the device the artist devised to destroy an acrylic paint and aerosol reproduction of one of his most famous images, Girl With Balloon, after it sold for €1.2mil during a contemporary art sale at Sotheby's in London in Oct 2018.
At the time, this reproduction was only partially reduced to shreds, which enabled it to be sold, three years later, for €21.8mil at another Sotheby's sale.
No selfies
Banksy chose Glasgow to stage his first official exhibition in 14 years because of the historic monument that sits in front of the city's Gallery of Modern Art. There's nothing original about this statue in homage to the Duke of Wellington, apart from the orange construction cone that has sat atop the former British Prime Minister's head for some 40 years.
A visitor looks at a police helmet decorated as disco ball made by Banksy at his exhibition at the Gallery Of Modern Art in Glasgow. Photo: AFP
It was put there by residents of the Scottish city and is perpetually replaced by a new cone every time the authorities remove it - an artistic happening that greatly pleases an artist known for his outrageous stunts.
Art lovers can see Cut & Run: 25 Years Card Labour from June 18 to Aug 28 at Glasgow's Gallery of Modern Art.
However, visitors will have to stick to a few rules, one of which concerns cell phones. These must be placed in sealed pouches, so that visitors are not tempted to take photos of the works on display. Those wishing to take home a souvenir can purchase Polaroids of the exhibition from the museum staff.
This stands out as an activist gesture at a time when selfies in museums have become the norm, but also as a way for Banksy to retain control of his work.
In recent years, exhibitions staged without the street artist's consent have been legion, whether in Paris, Seoul or Riyadh. One of them, organised in 2019 at Milan's Mudec, particularly annoyed Banksy, as it led to the sale of merchandise representing his works, again without his authorisation. Banksy took this case of copyright infringement to the Italian courts. - AFP
