BANKSY (b.1974), AFTER Golf Sale. Special «Dismaland» edition
Lot 43
2 3002 500
‘Special «Dismaland» edition offered sporadically throughout Banksy’s 2015 «Dismaland» installation
signed in plate ‘BANKSY’ (lower right); inscribed ‘Enjoy Your Free Art !!!/ Banksy is Dismal’, indistincly hand-numbered; stamp ‘Dismaland’ (on the reverse)
two-color spray/stencil on repurposed cardboard
29 x 20 cm (à vue)
2015
‘Dismaland’ was a temporary art project organized by street artist Banksy, constructed in the seaside resort town of Weston-super-Mare in Somerset, England. Prepared in secret, the pop-up exhibition at the Tropicana, a disused lido, was «a sinister twist on Disneyland» that opened during the weekend of 21 August 2015 and closed permanently on 27 September 2015, 36 days later.
Banksy described it as a «family theme park unsuitable for children. «The aesthetic of the «bemusement park» was potentially inspired by the «Dismayland» series of paintings created by American artist Jeff Gillette, who also participated in the exhibition. Banksy created ten new works and funded the construction of the exhibition himself.
‘In 1998, a young Chinese student’s sacrifice taught a valuable lesson to the world. A lesson Banksy has tried to cheapen with glib humor and crass opportunism but that still remains very potent. God Bless That Man’.