‘Banksy exhibition is unofficial,’ says WSJ
ISTANBUL - Doğan News Agency
‘The Art of Banksy’ exhibits special collections and installations from different periods of the artist, in accompaniment with modern technology.
The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) has exposed “The Art of Banksy,” an exhibition in Istanbul bringing together 80 works by the British street artist Banksy in an “unofficial retrospective.”Turkish company Istanbul Entertainment Group (IEG) produced the exhibition, which was curated by Steve Lazarides, the elusive artist’s former agent, along with the Turkish Ministry of Culture and Tourism and some of the country’s top businessmen.
“The opening last month featured a surreal collection of actors dressed up as some of Banksy’s most famous images: a masked protester throwing a bouquet of flowers; a winged policeman in riot gear with a yellow smiley face; a young girl hugging a bomb” the WSJ article read.
The article reiterated that Banksy had “nothing to do” with the exhibition, quoting the artist’s team.
According to WSJ, the gift shop of the exhibition has been creating “the most buzz.”
“The Art of Banksy,” which opened its doors to visitors at the Global Karaköy on Jan. 14, exhibits special collections and installations from different periods of the artist, in accompaniment with modern technology.
“Frequently painted over, covered up or chopped out of walls to be sold to the highest bidder, British street artist Banksy’s politically charged work has found an improbable new home in Istanbul, where a Turkish investment firm is hosting an unauthorized retrospective that includes a ‘fake’ gift shop doing brisk business,” the article explained.
Banksy has no relation
WSJ underlined that Banksy had no relation with the exhibition. “Instead, Kemal Gürkaynak, chief executive of Istanbul Entertainment Group, which worked with Mr. Lazarides on the exhibition, said it is a tribute to the artist and activist; one he hopes will bring Banksy’s ideas to a global audience in ways the artist hasn’t been willing to do himself, especially the mass production of his images.
“My aim is to make him more commercial and more commercial and more commercial,’” the article reported Mr. Gürkaynak as saying.
