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Last week, art history was made when street artist Banksy shredded his own painting at a Sotheby’s auction.
When the final hammer fell, Banksy’s Girl with Balloon began to pass through a hidden shredder in the bottom of the frame.
The art world, as well as the general population, was shocked after the painting “self-destructed” in front of their eyes, right after the artwork was sold for over $1 million.
Many people were left to wonder if the buyer of the painting would demand a refund, or if the piece had actually increased in value.
Sotheby’s has confirmed that the sale did in fact go through.
“In the process of ‘destroying’ the artwork, a new one was created,” Sotheby’s said.
Banksy is well known for these kind of pranks, which “poke fun at the establishment.”
“He has previously pulled stunts in the some of the world’s most respected museums and galleries such as the Louvre, Tate Britain, the British Museum, the Museum of Modern Art, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, covertly hanging his own works alongside the permanent collection,” Sotheby’s recalls.
“In many cases, it took some time for these subversive interventions to be detected. In doing so, and in this latest action at Sotheby’s, Banksy has cleverly nestled himself in the pages of art history.”
Seeing as a new artwork was created in the process of destroying the original, it now has a new name.
The piece, now titled Love is in the Bin, has been authenticized and the buyer will proceed with the purchase.
The buyer, a female European collector and longstanding client of Sotheby’s, will pay the same price that the piece was auctioned off at.
“When the hammer came down last week and the work was shredded, I was at first shocked, but gradually I began to realize that I would end up with my own piece of art history.”
Banksy also revealed on his official Instagram account that he installed the shredder himself, and included video of the process, including his view of the room as the painting shredded.
With the post, Banksy shared a quote from Picasso, which reads, “The urge to destroy is also a creative urge.”
Love is in the Bin, 2018, will be on view to the public in Sotheby’s new Bond Street Galleries on Oct. 13 and 14.
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