Banksy Greatest Hits: 2002-2008
Banksy
Lazinc Sackville
12 JULY – 25 AUGUST
Free
The first UK exhibition which allows visitors to see Banksy’s work all in one place: Lazinc showcases some of Banksy’s most iconic images. Lazinc’s Steve Lazarides has collaborated with the artist many times before, staging some of Banksy’s most well-known exhibitions such as Crude Oil, Barely Legal and Turf War. The unique collection on display here only confirm how relevant the anonymous artists social comments still are in today’s political climate.
Included are many of Banksy’s well-known works, such as the Kissing Policemen and Girl and the balloon, which was voted nations favourite Banksy work in 2017. However, many works I never existed were included also. Obviously, this is the case in most exhibitions of even your favourite artists, as one cannot possibly know the whole expanse of someone’s work. What made it different this time, though, was the sheer contrast between Banksy’s well-known street art and delicate paintings.
Whilst Banksy’s paintings contain very similar political messages to his stencilled street art, they are also starkly different. I never knew Banksy even painted, let alone this well! Notable works were those playing on timeless classics, putting a modern and frankly quite dismal spin on them. Firstly, was a wilting version of Van Gogh’s sunflowers, reminding us of the inevitability of death, whilst Monet’s water lily pond is ruined with the addition of two shopping trolleys dumped in the centre.
Another image which stood out to me was the child of war, surrounded by rubble and disaster, bleeding and alone. A camera crew surround the scene, and in the background, we can see a director figure holding back the paramedics from the scene until they have achieved the ‘perfect shot’. In the modern age, this is an occurrence which must happen all too often. Yes, the journalistic viewpoint and documentation of these events is highly important and informative to the rest of the world, but all too often this necessity clouds over the bare facts, and reveals how we are becoming desensitised and less humane for personal gain.
Disturbing themes continue within the last room of the exhibition, which plays on famous images such as ‘Napalm Girl’. In the Pulitzer Prize-winning photo taken June 8, 1972, 9-year-old Kim Phuc is seen running naked and crying down Route 1, near Trang Bang village in Vietnam. This is after a napalm attack by the US Army which subsequently burned off her clothes and various areas of her skin. The image became well-known worldwide and helped to expose some of the awful injustices the Vietnamese people faced during this troubling time. Banksy couples Kim Phuc with Mickey Mouse and Ronald McDonald, just to expose the façade of the ‘nice guy’ and they way capitalism and popular culture can prey upon the most innocent members of our society.
Overall, Banksy’s work remains incredibly moving, current and important. What this exhibition proves is that he is not only a very skilled street artist, but he can also paint tremendously. It focuses on some of the darkest sides of humanity, and reminds us what an awful world we live in. If it’s cheer you’re after, avoid this at all costs, but if you want to be truly effected by content and witness some memorable works, then paying your fave graff-er a visit is a must.
OVERALL RATING: ****
https://www.lazinc.com/exhibitions/banksy-greatest-hits-2002-2008/
