Exhibition: The Art of Banksy

Tonight.. ooh, was looking forward to this one (more politics): I was back with CT, who have cheap tickets for an exhibition called The Art of Banksy! Runs till 8pm, entry any time. Mind you, I see Wowcher now has even cheaper tickets, grr..

I took myself along as soon as I possibly could take off from work. It's not hard to find - it takes up a big chunk of the Charing Cross Road side of what used to be my office building - and has made use of the scaffolding to advertise itself:


Entry is through a massive giftshop - which is free to enter at any time. And they have all manner of stuff - soap on a rope, t-shirts, mugs, postcards, greetings cards, candles, headphone stands, socks.. all incorporating famous Banksy designs. I had two trawls around it - before and after the exhibition - but, as usual, couldn't find anything I thought I might actually use.

Entry to the exhibition is via a roped-off section, and includes a cursory bag check. And in you go.. 


You'll find all you expect in here - the ironic jabs at capitalism and politics, and the scathing indictment of war, with plenty of commentary about the police for good measure..


Oh, and there's one about climate change - pulled from public release because of complaints from Disney, this depicts characters from The Jungle Book, and like other items in the collection, comes from a private collector:


Ah yes, politics.. this one is called Devolved Parliament:


Plenty of interesting material related to his hotel in Bethlehem, the "Walled Off" - currently closed, for obvious reasons:





Oh, and - heh - we all remember the famous Banksy drawing that was sold for a fortune, and immediately shredded.. well, apparently the shredded version fetched a much higher price!


Most of his work needs no explanation:


Another fascinating section shows what he's been doing in the Ukraine, since war broke out there:



And the police, as I say, don't get off scot-free - this one is called Stop and Search:


Some quotes, for good measure:


I had to laugh at this one, based on the Tiananmen Square photo I had on my wall when I was a student:


So, apparently, he took £1m worth of £10 notes and "altered" them - literally, "Di-faced" them - before distributing them at music festivals, where people didn't notice and started using them as currency.. without the explanatory text about these, you'd miss most of the little touches he added:


When I saw the phrase "Exit through the Gift Shop", I thought - that was a short exhibition.. until I realised that it was referring to an Oscar-nominated film he made! When it DOES come time for you to exit, predictably, through the gift shop - he has a couple of parting messages about capitalism for you:



Ah man, should be required viewing! Currently booking to the 5th of January - if you have a political bone in your body, you need to see this! and don't worry, I haven't given away half of what's in there..

Well, I hadn't wanted to book somewhere to eat, because I had no idea what time I'd be at the exhibition, (earlier than expected, as it happened) or how long I'd spend there (40 minutes). And I'm glad I didn't book. Unfortunately, that did mean that, when I decided I fancied Bella Italia and rocked up there without a reservation, it didn't take long for her to send me packing - the pre-theatre crowd was in. Never mind, New Loon Fung wasn't turning people away - I was starving by that stage, and it went down very well indeed.

Tomorrow, The London Movie Club has their May social - back in the BFI Riverfront Bar again. 'Spose that'd be a good day to drag myself into the office.. except then it occurred to me that I haven't got a lot on.. and if I want to look busy, it'd be a lot easier on Thursday, when I have more meetings. So I'm dragging myself in that day, instead.

And on Thursday evening, I'm with CT again - and back with the Backyard Comedy Club! About time..

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