Banksy’s Latest Elaborate Stunt in London Is Actually an Advertisement for His New Online Home Goods Shop

This Thursday, Banksy’s
trenchant painting of chimpanzees running British
Parliament will hit the auction block at Sotheby’s in London,
where it is expected to fetch as much as $2.5
million. But the
anonymous artist isn’t letting the secondary market take his
spotlight.

An elaborate Banksy installation
satirizing auctions popped
up in South London last night, taking over several derelict
storefronts below a gym in the town of Croydon.

There, the artist installed a
series of tableaux, including a baby’s crib resting below a mobile
made of security cameras and a parlor room with a rug made from the
pelt of Frosted Flakes mascot Tony the Tiger.

In another window hangs the
stab-proof, Union Jack vest the artist made for
rapper Stormzy earlier this year. It’s accompanied by a text written in the
style of an auction lot blurb: “A version of the ‘John Bull’
English gents waistcoat updated for modern times. This customized
body armor is capable of stopping bullets up to .45 caliber and is
fully stab proof. As worn by Stormzy at Glastonbury festival
(because it’s very dangerous there). Yet not machine washable.
Signed. Edition of 5 plus 2 A/P.”

(Stormzy, who was born in
Croydon, became the first black solo artist to headline the
Glastonbury festival in June.)

“This showroom is for display
purposes only,” Banksy added in an Instagram post,
explaining that the installation is an advertisement for an online
store he’s launching, called—of course—Gross Domestic
Product. 

The store, which will sell
branded home goods, is a response to a greeting card company
attempting to obtain legal rights to the name “Banksy” for its
products, the artist wrote in a flyer near the storefront. The best
way to prevent this, he explains, is to sell his own trademarked
merchandise.

The goods will begin at
£10 and are, according to a description,
handmade using “existing or recycled materials wherever possible.
Including the ideas.” 

The site’s landing page features
what looks like a flooded shopping mall, with text that reads,
“Opening soon.”

Banksy’s Devolved Parliamentpainting will highlight
Sotheby’s evening auction of contemporary art this
Thursday, October 3.

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Advertisement for His New Online Home Goods Shop appeared first
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