Art from the renowned Banksy—whose real identity remains unclear—has made its way to Montreal. The Art of Banksy Without Limits, an internationally-touring exhibition being held at La Maison du Festival, advertises 170 works by the world-famous street artist. However, only 40 of the works have had their provenance verified by a Banksy expert. The Montreal Gazette compares this display to a Rolling Stones cover band, as many of these artworks pay tribute to the original but are not entirely the same. Still, the over 130 non-original works on display pay homage to the work of Bansky, encapsulating the style, spirit, and message of the original pieces.
Art inspired by and relating to Bansky’s Dismaland and The Walled Off Hotel, a morbid parody of Disneyland and a hotel exhibition located right across from Palestine’s West Bank barrier, respectively, are among the artworks featured throughout the exhibit. These pieces have been arranged to create a vignette of what the real work might look like. While it may not be the original display, Bansky’s twisted humour—alongside his anti-war activism and disdain for capitalism—is still conveyed to the viewer. Other galleries in the exhibition display photos, videos, and even holograms explaining how Banksy started his career, highlighting his involvement in various global issues centred in his art.
Due to the static nature of Banksy’s street art, it can be rare to catch one of his pieces in person. However, this exhibition has travelled all around the globe from St. Petersburg, to Madrid, to Las Vegas, and many other cities, allowing the public to view works that had previously existed only on the buildings he used as his canvases. Furthermore, the exhibit displays paintings and recreations of Banksy’s work that either cannot be moved or no longer exist. Without these recreations, it would not be possible to experience Dismaland or The Walled Off Hotel without travelling to England or Palestine.
As a street artist, many of Banksy’s works are painted over and taken down, especially due to their controversial public reception. They may only last for a short time before they disappear—sometimes by design. In 2018, his famous Girl With Balloon painting was sold at an auction for $1.4 million USD. Upon sale, the work self-destructed, as the artist had installed a paper shredder into the frame as a protest against his art being used for profit.
The gallery may preserve Banksy’s work into a singular space, with the pieces protected by four walls and a steep entrance fee, but when spray painted on a building, Banksy’s art is left for any passerby to see.
While the exhibit has been successful in concentrating and entrenching the work and message of Bansky into one display, the $25 CAD entry fee seems to go entirely against the artist’s anti-capitalist beliefs.
Nevertheless, producer Sorina Burlacu maintains that their aim is to spread the spirit of Banksy’s art and asserts that if Banksy disagreed with the exhibition, he would have interfered. Judging by the artist’s previous actions, Banksy has no fear of sharing his opinion. Most of his art makes statements as such, so if he were really opposed to this travelling exhibition, he would likely have let the public know.
Regardless of whether Banksy himself endorses the exhibition, the commercialization of his work does raise the question of whether The Art of Banksy Without Limits actually adheres to the ideals that Banksy is known for. While the concentration of his pieces in one place has allowed people to view the work that typically could only be seen on the other side of the world, the entrance fee commodifies his work in a way that Banksy has explicitly condemned.
The Art of Banksy Without Limits can be viewed at La Maison du Festival until Oct. 18.
