Banksy

BANKSY (Bristol, England, 1975).
"Dismal dollar real", 2015.
Stencil on original dollar.
Attached certificate of purchase and Dismaland envelope.
Measurements: 6.7 x 15.5 cm.
Stencil on original dollar in original framing. Made on the occasion of the art project organized by the artist at Weston-super-Mare seaside resort in Somerset, England between August and September 2015. Dismaland was an amusement park created by Banksy, located in the Weston-super-mare resort in Somerset, England. Conceived as an art project, Banksy describes it as a "theme park unsuitable for children." More than 58 artists personally invited by the author participated in the construction of the park. The name chosen for the park plays on the English word dismal, meaning depressing, and is intended as an ironic critique of Disneyland. The park was a temporary installation, inaugurated on August 22, 2015 and closed on September 28 of the same year.
Banksy, the British artist whose identity is still unknown, is considered one of the main exponents of contemporary Street Art. According to a study by Queen Mary University of London published in March 2016, Robin Gunningham, a resident of Bristol, would be the artist behind the Banksy pseudonym. His works address universal themes such as politics, culture or ethics treated mostly from a satirical and ironic point of view by combining graffiti writing with the use of stencil stencils. This technique is similar to that used by Blek le Rat, who began working with stencils in 1981 in Paris. In fact, Banksy acknowledged Blek's influence by stating that "every time I think I've painted something slightly original, I realize that Blek le Rat did it better, only twenty years earlier."