Bansky Street Art Show Extended to March 24

Until March 24, 2019: BANKSY: THIS IS NOT A PHOTO OPPORTUNITY. Palazzo Medici Riccardi. Open 9 am – 7 pm. Closed Wednesday. Admission: €10, reduced €6.

Twenty prints of the artist’s best and most iconic pieces of street art are currently displayed in a Renaissance palace.

Banksy is an anonymous artist and political activist from Bristol. His pieces generally include a satirical twist on the modern-day issues in politics and those facing society as a whole, which invite reflection. He rose from the Bristol underground art scene starting off by graphitizing buildings using intricate stencils and bright colors. Stenciling is a common theme in the artwork he produces. Typically, the stencils he creates are mixed with other media sources or street signs. In his early career, he focused on using spray paint with the stencils, but his later works are silk screened.

The exhibition begins with a timeline of Banksy’s career as a street and performance artist with various quotes gathered from his personal descriptions of his artwork. It then displays the more iconic pieces of his work, “Queen Vic” and the Banksy smiley face being the most notable ones. Queen Vic was one of the first pieces that were produced at Pictures on Walls, Banksy’s personal print house.

The show continues in a larger, dark room beginning with some less known pieces with more political affiliation. These are the pieces that truly demonstrate Banksy’s satirical sense of humor. As the viewer moves through, there are more of his recognizable pieces such as “Laugh Now” and “Balloon Girl.” “Laugh Now,” depicts a monkey in his classic black and white style with a sign hanging around its neck reading “Laugh now, but one day we will be in charge.” Banksy uses the monkey to depict human nature and comment on the oppression from capitalism. This area also contains “Rage, Flower Thrower,” also known as “Flower Bomb.” This piece is visible across town on the various advertisements for the exhibition as well as being on tickets. The piece was originally painted on a wall in Jerusalem after a riot broke out at a gay parade in 2005.

“Rage, Flower Thrower” epitomizes the artist as political activist in the context of his pacifist, and anti-war stance. One of his most compelling pieces depicts the famous photograph, from the Vietnam War, Napalm Girl. Banksy contradicts this image with those of Ronald McDonald and Mickey Mouse in order to juxtapose the way in which America views itself versus the opinion of other countries. This piece can be seen in the gallery among many other politically driven exhibits, prompting the viewer to self-examine.

Recently, there has been buzz surrounding Banksy because of his recent performance at a Sotheby’s auction. One of his pieces, “Balloon Girl”, was up for auction. It sold for $1.4 million. Soon after, however, the piece self-destructed. Banksy posted an Instagram video later in the evening showing his installation of a motorized paper shredder hidden in the frame of the piece. “This is Not a Photo Opportunity” ends with this two part video in which Banksy creates the motorized paper shredder in the frame of “Balloon Girl” as well as showing the Sotheby’s Auction where the event took place.