The internet blew up after Banksy's artwork ' self-destructed' after being sold for over a million pounds at Sotheby's auction house on Friday night.
The print, known as Girl With Red Balloon, is one of Banksy's most famous and reproduced works. The graffiti artist, known for his anti-establishment statements, shared the moment on Instagram along with the caption "going, going, gone":
Thanks to the eyes of a genius on Twitter, it looks like Banky's shredded a copy of his print and not the original. If you look closely the shredded print is at an angle to the original print - the head is out of sync with the body. It's possible the original was rolled up at the end of the frame while the copy was sent through the shredder or pre-shredded.
So, I have a theory about that Banksy shredded girl w/the red balloon:
It's not shredded. It's still rolled up inside the frame. A pre-torn canvas rolled out from behind the one in front that is rolled up behind itself. The torn canvas doesn't line up w/the one in front: pic.twitter.com/fuyCaxAcMj
— Steve Bowler (@gameism) October 6, 2018
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The illusion has been a popular magic trick for decades and was usually performed by using a volunteers money:
But I mean, this trick has been around for decaaaaades (or longer)https://t.co/lYUWw3aAjy
— Steve Bowler (@gameism) October 6, 2018
Not only is Banksy anonymous, but he can now claim to be on par with illusionists like David Blaine. It's unclear whether or not the buyer was given a refund but with £1.2 million involved we're guessing the buyer won't have to haggle with customer service. More than likely, it was Banksy himself who bought the piece and the whole act was a brilliant stunt to comment on the consumerism of art.
