BANKSY LIMITLESS: REFRAMED - LONDON AND SYDNEY


BANKSY LIMITLESS: REFRAMED - LONDON AND SYDNEY

     Where? 79-85 Old Brompton Road (South Kensington Underground).

     There are currently two similar Banksy exhibitions in London and Sydney, each featuring more than 250 works, recreations and certified originals. Both exhibitions are unauthorised – but then, isn't most of Banksy's work?

     I was concerned this might be just a reboot of the exhibition I visited in 2024. But there was lots more to enjoy here - together, of course, with some of his most iconic works I previously posted here.

     In 2024, over nine days, Banksy stencilled animals across London. The gorilla orchestrating a great escape was his final mural, on an entrance gate at London Zoo. The Zoo quickly removed it "for safekeeping, so it could be preserved properly".  The Zoo said they’re still deciding what to do with it long-term, but it’s a “significant moment in our history”. 
      In place of the original work there is now a high-quality reproduction of the gorilla lifting the shutter,  with a sign underneath saying “Banksy woz ere”.
      Ironically, what can be interpreted as a protest against caging wild animals, could be sold for millions to support the zoo.

 
                 No Ball Games (Grey) (2009)         Flower Thrower (aka Love Is In The Air) (2003) 


 
Very Little Helps (2008)
      Also known as In Tesco's We Trust, what's left of Very Little Helps remains in its original location on the wall of a North London pharmacy.  Later in 2008, Banksy released an edition of 299 signed prints - raising £24,000 in a lottery for the charity Sightsavers.

  
Happy Choppers (2003)                            CND Soldiers (2005)
 
Heavy Weaponry (2004)

                                          Applause (2006)                  Americans Working Overhead (2004)

Bombing Middle England (2000)
     The satirical image of elderly women bowling with live grenades first appeared in Bristol. A unique version sold at Sotheby's in 2007 for £102,000, while a limited edition of 50 signed prints remains highly sought after.
Media Canvas (2006)
     This rare large scale canvas is among the artist's most thought-provoking statements.

Pillow Fight (2017)                                                    
      Pillow Fight, inside his Walled Off Hotel in Bethlehem, depicts an Israeli soldier and Palestinian youth in a pillow fight.

Napoleon (2018)
     Banksy's version of Jaque-Louis David's Napoleon Crosses the Alps appeared on Avenue de Flandre, Paris 19, in June 2018.  It is also known as Liberté, égalité, Cable TV.


Thomas the Train (2009)

                                                                                       Barcode Leopard (2002)

Pregnant Monkey (2006)                                    Bomb Hugger (2003)
     Pregnant Monkey, created for Banksy's Barely Legal Los Angeles exhibition, parodies the 1991 Vanity Fair cover of a nude, pregnant Demi Moore.

 
     This mock-up shows the mechanism behind Banksy's most famous stunt. In 2018, Girl With Balloon began self-shredding seconds after the hammer fell at Sotheby's. The buyer, who had bid £1 million, opted to keep it. Three years later, renamed Love in the Bin, it sold for a record £18.6 million. Click here for video of the auction.

Monkey Detonator (2002)
     "They say that if you gave a thousand monkeys a thousand typewriters at some point you'd have yourself a novel. I was wondering if you gave a thousand monkeys a thousand sticks of dynamite how long it would take for them to make the city a more beautiful place" Banksy

The Mild Mild West (1999)
     Painted in Bristol over three days in broad daylight, this mural was inspired by clashes at unlicensed raves in the 1990s, where police confronted partygoers. The work remains a cultural landmark in Bristol.



Dismaland Banknotes, 2015
       These dollar bills featured in Banksy's subversive parody of a theme park. His "bemusement park" which he described it as a "family theme park unsuitable for children" in Weston-super-Mare attracted 150,000 visitors. The notes were a limited edition, each authenticated with its own serial number.




  
     Monkey Queen (2004)                                 Nola (White Rain) (2008)

      This is one of five Union Jack stab-proof vests from Banksy's 2019 Gross Domestic Product pop-up shop in Croydon. One of them - though not this one - was famously worn by Stormzy during his headline Glastonbury set in 2019. The rapper donated his vest to London's Design Museum. 

Corrupted Oils ....
Vettriano (2005)
Inspired by Jack Vettriano's The Singing Butler.

  
                                         Corrupted Oil Jerry (2005)                      Sunflowers from a Petrol Station (2005)                                 
The Banality of the Banality of Evil
    In a month-long residency in New York, Banksy bought a beat-up oil painting from a thrift store for $50 and altered the piece by adding a Nazi officer admiring the landscape it depicted. He then covertly returned the doctored work to the charity shop and included a note authenticating it as a Banksy. The charity, Housing Works, later sold the piece at auction for $615,000.

BANKSY LIMITLESS: REFRAMED, SYDNEY

  Where? 155 George Street, The Rocks, Circular Quay train station or Circular quay ferry wharf.

     Thanks to my Sydney stringer for these works, which do not appear in the London exhibition.

     


 
     Monkey Queen (2004)                                              Donut (2009)                               

Economic Inequality (2015)

                                                        Sweep It Under the Carpet (2006)

  
  Forgive Us Our Trespassing (2011)                    Roller Rat 2006                                      
                                                                                            

Venus (2006)
Corrupted oil version of The Rokeby Venus by Velazquez.

Anti-Immigration Birds (2014)
    Anti-Immigration Birds first appeared as a mural in Clacton-on-Sea. It was removed by the local anti-immigration council after a complaint that the painting itself was "offensive and racist". In 2024, Nigel Farage  won the Clacton parliamentary seat, with 46.2% of the vote, becoming an MP for the first time.

CCTV Brittania (2009)                   Paint Pot Angel (2009)
 
                      Sad Tweety (2008)                   Napalm (Can't Beat That Feeling) (2004)

   Love is in the Air (2003)                              Self-Portrait (2001)   

     Part of Banksy's animals series, these monkeys appeared overnight in Brick Lane, London. They've since been power-washed away – but not before I photographed them. You can view my photos here.

Show Me the Monet (2005)
     Show Me the Monet reimagines Claude Monet's famous Water Lilies. In 2020, the piece sold at Sotheby's for £7.6 million.

It turns out my Sydney stringer is also my Givency stringer ....
.... as she's been to the actual bridge which inspired Monet's work.


No free balloons in London! Maybe there's no hope for us Brits.



Comments

  1. a sub editor22 June 2026 at 11:21

    never knew he's produced so much brilliant stuff

    ReplyDelete

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