23 - Banksy, Dismal Canvas, Flower Thrower, Dismaland, stencil from 2015

Banksy, Dismal Canvas, Flower Thrower, Dismaland, stencil from 2015 Banksy, born 1974 in Bristol, Dismal Canvas, Flower Thrower, stencil print, from the Dismaland theme park 2015, 29.5 x 23.5 cm, inscribed and stamped on the reverse, numbered 2/15 (we have the original admission ticket in our possession) Dismaland was an art project by Banksy in the seaside resort of Weston-super-Mare in Somerset, England. The exhibition, held at the former Tropicana water park and kept secret for a long time in the run-up to its opening, was a parody of the famous Disneyland theme park; ‘dismal’ means ‘depressing, bleak, gloomy’. The exhibition opened on 21 August 2015. Banksy himself described the exhibition as ‘a family theme park unsuitable for children’. The exhibition ran for a total of 36 days until 27 September 2015. The plan was to sell 4,000 tickets per day. The setting up of the exhibition was disguised as a film production, which worked until Holly Cushing - believed to be the artist’s manager - was spotted on site on several occasions. The high demand for tickets caused long waiting times on the exhibition’s website. There was speculation that these long waiting times were part of the exhibition organised by Banksy.