Photograph: Chris Jobson of Colossal
Banksy’s latest exhibition, Dismaland, is certainly his most ambitious to date. The elusive artist has turned a dilapidated 2.5 acre seaside resort in Weston-super-Mare, England, into his version of a Disney theme park. And by his version I mean a provocative, sarcastic, wasteland created to be a scathing critique of consumerism and the depressing state of what we consider to be entertainment.
The park features 10 new works by the artist, including a sculpture that features Cinderella and her carriage post-accident, surrounded by paparazzi.
See lots more images below!
Photograph: David Levene for The Guardian
Whether or not you are a fan of Banksy’s work you have to be impressed by the sheer scale of this project. The artist handpicked 58 other artists, including Jenny Holzer, Damien Hirst, Josh Keyes, David Shrigley, Espo and Escif, to be a part of it. He also apparently paid for the entire show himself and insists it is less about taking shots at Mickey and more about showcasing the work of “the best artists I could imagine, apart from the two who turned me down”. (source)
Banksy has described the show as “entry-level anarchism” as evident in the area in which visitors are shown how to open up bus stop advertising.
Photograph: Alicia Canter for The Guardian
Photograph: Alicia Canter for The Guardian
Photograph: Chris Jobson of Colossal
Photograph: Chris Jobson of Colossal
Photograph: Chris Jobson of Colossal
Photograph: Chris Jobson of Colossal
The show will be open until September 27th, with 4,000 tickets available each day, at a mere £3 a pop. Banksy’s 2009 show in Bristol generated an estimated £10M for the local economy and was visited by more then 300,000 people in 12 weeks. (source)
