Banksy At Bristol Museum – The Run Up

So, best kept secret of the last few months then, Banksy’s Summer Show is at Bristol City Museum and Art Gallery. It’s been fun watching the rumours online for a while, it was guessed eventually, but people still didn’t seem to want to believe it. The museum’s a clever idea too, if you’re world famous for graffiti and setting up shows in derelict places, then going for somewhere like this is a top idea.

So, this blog normally covers the making of shows as well, but obviously that’s not been as easy with this one. Still though, been fun keeping an eye on the preparations from time to time.

Looks like the show’s been being set up for a good while, this was the view of the exhibition door a week or so ago (4th June). That steel shutter looked oddly new somehow, might not be though.

…there was even a bit of a clue sitting there on the other door as well in nice bold red letters.

Bit of an opportunity to cover that piece anyway, bought from the Rivington Street tunnel exhibition back in 2001 apparently.

Long shot, placed above a Rolf Harris inspired piece…

…bit closer, a monkey on a bomb over a background that otherwise went behind a ‘Heavy Weaponary Elephant’ stencil.

By Wednesday 10th June, it seems the show was getting harder to hide.

They’d cleared out the space where the cafe normally is…

…and the kids play area too, steel shutter still firmly down on the exhibition.

Here’s the justification they gave for it…

…no mention of the massive glass windows/doors to the porch being pasted over with black paper though.

So, for what it’s worth, that’s as much as could be seen of the run up until yesterday when people started poking cameras through holes and so on, which seems a bit much really. Search the web if you want to see that kind of antics. Sorry about the crap quality of these photos btw, there was a greater than usual need for speed and subtlety in taking them…