Tag Archives: Dismaland

Street Art, Shoreditch, London, street art tour, tour guide, Banksy, Stik, Roa, Dismaland, Dr D, Vermibus, Alo, Clet Abraham,

A Decade of Genius Street Art

As we start a new decade a review of a tiny amount of the amazing street art witnessed in the past decade seemed appropriate.

A Bun In Their Hair, ALO, Shoreditch 2014

Here is a slide show of a number of the images that made the final review of the “wild Wonderous and Inventive” art, which is a rather vague way of saying “stuff that wasn’t mentioned in our mural, sculptural or political street art reviews.

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The only way to bring to a close this dredging up of our favourite specimens of wild outdoor art is to look back at what Banksy has been up to. Although Banksy produced far less street art in the past decade than in the noughties, on almost all respects other than quantity he continues to be the most important, brilliant and relevant artist in whatever field he chooses.

Banksy Dismaland, 2015

Banksy’s Better In Than Out in New York saw a month long treasure hunt – “hide and seek” combo which cast Banksy as Bonnie And Clyde against the NY mayor, police and press and the world watched with glee but we already knew Banksy would never be caught.

Better Out Than IN, Banksy, New York, photo LunaPark

He also had a major art triumph staging a group shop with a conscience at Dismaland though we already knew Banksy did extraordinary exhibition/experience fusion.

Dismaland, Banksy, Weston Super Mare, 2015

He created a huge mural in Dover in 2017 but we already knew Brexit was a stupid idea.

Banksy, Dover 2017

My favourite Banksy of the decade however was his Les Miserables in Knightsbridge, London’s embassy land.

Tear gassed Cosette, Banksy, Knightsbridge London, 2016

It has the Banksy signature elements, it had the cleverness in repurposing the iconic image of Cosette, it had the impact in terms of global exposure, right opposite the French embassy it combined perfect placement with the “wow, how did he get away with that.” factor.

We did not however know about the French police tear gassing migrant families in the camps in Calais and this was Banksy’s crowning achievement, bringing that shameful episode to wider international attention.

Cosette v French embassy, Banksy, Knightsbridge London, 2016

This selection of photos a part of the selection reviewed and discussed on the Graffoto blog post 2010 – 2019 Wild Wonderous Inventive Street Art

All photos Dave Stuart except LunaPark where noted

It has been a huge pleasure to write 5 reviews of the street art of the past decade which we personally enjoyed.  The Links to those reviews are at the bottom of the Graffoto review.  A specific review of the street art of 2019 might appear shortly.

 


Banksy, Dismaland , street art, street artist, Weston Super Mare, exhibition

Dismaland – Banksy is back!

British street artist Banksy has sprung a surprise on the unsuspecting public by opening an epic new show in the West Country coastal resort Weston Super Mare.  While setting out to parody disappointing fairground parks it succeeds in creating a hugely entertaining adventure with art and what Banksy describes as “entry-level anarchy” included.

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There are fairground rides, stalls, a fairy castle which is grim rather than Grimm, galleries, cafes and bars and of course you exit through the gift shop.

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Banksy himself has created 10 new works for the event and in the galleries and various other locations are sculptures, installations and paintings by another 60 or so artists.  The program also features performances, film, bands and DJs.

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Banksy’s last significant activity was the “Better Out Than In” 30 day residency on the streets of New York in 2013 and before that he had epic art events in the UK with Cans Festival in 2008 and Banksy v. Bristol Museum in 2009. This production manages to trump all those for a variety of reasons.

The creation of Dismaland was shrouded in mystery, there had been rumours for over a month that Bansky was up to something at the abandoned lido site but a pretend Grey Fox film production was used to mask the true intention behind the work taking place on the site.  The announcement came 3 days before the official opening, typical Banksy secrecy and short notice.

Banksy, Dismaland , street art, street artist, Weston Super Mare, exhibition

Bill Barminski – X-Ray search (cardboard plus performance guards)

To get deeper into the Dismaland experience and for insights into Banksy’s achievement, check Graffoto’s review (written by Dave, Shoreditch Street Art Tour’s guide).

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Admission costs £3 per person and is either by timed entry tickets booked online here or some are available on the day at the site but are likely to be then subject to queuing with a one-out-one-in system in operation.  At the moment the ticket website is down and expected to go live at noon on Tuesday 26th August.  Monday 25th is “walk up, cash only” admission.

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All photos: Dave Stuart  except featured image courtesy Banksy website www.dismaland.co.uk