That’s a neat trick but hopefully whomever bought those shreds of paper kept the receipt. Above is a pic via Bansky’s Instagram of one of his works shredding itself to the horror (and perhaps delight) of auction-goers after being auctioned off for $1.4 million.
Banksy, as most know, is the mysterious artist who was first noticed when he began leaving clever graffiti scenes ironically protesting war and police brutality all over England, beginning in 1997. He’s mysterious because no one knows who he is (although his real name might be “Rob” or “Robin”) or what he looks like despite his being worth 20 million and having directed a documentary about himself.
Banksy is notorious for not loving his art being sold, as exhibited by this excerpt from a Forbes piece on him from 2013.
On February 22, 2007, the day after Sotheby’s London sold three Banksy works, all of which soared above their auction estimates and into the six figures, the elusive and anonymous British graffiti artist updated his website with an image of an auction house, the people in the room bidding on a picture with the written words “I Can’t Believe You Morons Actually Buy This Shit”.
Hence, the scene in Sotheby’s London yesterday when his iconic work “Girl With Balloon” (2006) killed itself after going for £1,042,000 ($1.4 million). The special “artist’s frame” that Banksy had submitted for the painting turned into a paper shredder and hacked the shit out of the painting in front of everyone. Bansky most likely planted a minion at the auction who set off the shredder from a remote after the auction. A mysterious man in black glasses and a hat was seen getting into it with security.
Banksy posted a pic of the vandalism on Instagram and wrote “going, going, gone.” Heh.
After the incident, Alex Branczik, Sotheby’s senior director and head of contemporary art in Europe, was quoted as saying “It appears we just got Banksy-ed”.
Sotheby’s issued a statement about situation: “We have talked with the successful purchaser who was surprised by the story. We are in discussion about next steps.”
There is no snark here. Banksy 4 Everything.
Pic: Instagram