Last weekend I took a trip to Bristol to visit the popular Bansky exhibit that the museum has put on over the summer. (There was a two-and-a-half hour wait to get into the museum.) For those of you who do not know, Banksy is a graffiti artist, and his artwork is controversial, partly because some do not feel that graffiti is considered artwork and graffiti encourages defacing property.
While most graffiti is an eye-sore, I have seen some quite good graffiti, particularly in Italy and Spain while I have been on holiday, and Bansky's work is also quite good, and the execution of the artwork and subjects makes one think. The work is witty, and some of it has a political or social message.
Upon entering the museum, a Ronald McDonald mannequin towers above the door with make-up streaming down his eyes, a bottle of alcohol next to him, and looking as though he is about to jump. This provides a clue to what the visitor will see inside the exhibit. Inside the museum is an installation that encourages looking at food in a different way. In one cage, robotic 'chicks' shaped like nuggets 'walk' and 'peck' the cage floor, and some eggs in a nest have become omlets. Fish fillets swim in a fish bowl, and various hot dogs and sausages move about in reptile cages. In another cage is a 'leopard' sitting in a tree, moving its tail, but when approaching the front of a cage, it 'becomes' a fur coat. A room with graffiti is also a part of the exhibit. Most of the graffiti is witty and some conveys a political or social message. Some is cleverly executed with perspective.
I have posted a few pieces from the exhibit below.
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