Thinking Pictures

I was one of the 300.000 people that, last summer, went to the west of England, to queue for 4 and a half hours (which was the average waiting time every single day) to see the Bristol City Museum’s Banksy exhibition. Long drive, long queue, but it was worth every minute (and I’m not good at idle time-wasting, so enough said).

The queuing was one of those situations where people let their solidarity out, to help their neighbours with shopping, food-sharing, newspaper swapping, toilet-break space minding, etc. A lovely communal spirit overtakes the crowd, united in its goal of sharing the rare art experience. I met a skint student who’d come down all the way from Leeds, and planned to return there later in the day – can you get 25 hours in one day? There was a couple who had come all the way from South Africa just to see the exhibition, but they were quite happy to add in a few days to their trip for a holiday in England. Such a fan club! An invisible and unknown artist with the pulling power of a rock legend, don’t you love the times we live in?

The show was excellent, with playful winks all over the place. I couldn’t stop smiling and going: ‘oh, wow!’ Starting with a wild garden party, rocking policemen and all,  the exhibition covered the working methods of stencilling (other artist always want to know about techniques), the range of artworks Banksy is proficient in, and the full-range of backdrop contexts. Brilliant!

It’s hard to tell what is myth and what not, in this uber-legendary mystery. However, I trust the museum staff that admitted that they hadn’t met Banksy, because the whole hanging had been done in secret. I even believe, as they told me, that Banksy had added interventions throughout the museum several times after the show had opened. All, of course, surrounded by the utmost secrecy and puzzlement. Did Banksy have the keys? I mean, how did he get in? It was a Banksy show, it had to be vandal-proof!

Maybe some of the myths will be dispelled when I see ‘Exit through the Gift Shop’, the documentary film opening this weekend.

In the meantime, here is another sample of the humour, the techniques and the ideas of subversion of the artworld that Bristol Museum had to offer in abundance: