Banksy Exhibition in Bristol
I went to the Banksy exhibition on Wednesday. Been meaning to go for ages - before the schools break up and the queues get bigger. Still had to queue for over half an hour - on a Wednesday morning at 10.30! Don't these people have jobs! Interesting mix of people though. All walks of life - children, pensioners, nicely dressed ladies with posh accents, as well as trendy teenagers and a few alternative types. It has certainly drawn in a large crowd of people, even one guy who was visiting the UK from the States for 2 days, spent one in London and the other in Bristol just to see the Banksy exhibition. So was it worth it? I would definitely say 'YES'. Especially as the museum is free! Living in Easton, I have seen Banksy's work mainly on the walls of houses some of which have been covered, which is a shame. So it was a surprise to see how versatile his work was. The first thing you see as you enter is a burnt out ice-cream van which is also the information desk. Then there are his sculptures, not for anyone easily offended - especially the one of St Patrick. The theme of some of his works was old masters remastered, and these sculptures were excellent. I especially liked the Angel of the North with her skimpy clothes, fag in hand and tinny in the other, surrounded by chips and fast food wrappers. Could almost be Bristol on a Friday night around 2.00am. The most controversial of his pieces was a picture of Micheal Jackson outside a ginger bread house with Hansel and Gretel. Probably wouldn't have raised so many eyebrows had he not just died. Very clever. My favourites were the animals in cages. I particularly liked the big cat which from the back looked almost real until you looked around the front and found it was a fur coat. But the best stuff, for me anyway, was the chicken house with baby chicks as chicken nuggets eating a tray of tomato sauce and the hot dogs, which looked really cute in their tanks. Just like you would see in a pet shop and animated just enough to look real. Fantastic! So if you haven't already been, get down to the Bristol city museum, take a flask and sandwiches to keep you entertained in the queue, or get there really early (about 9.30) and have a blast. (Sorry if you were expecting hamsters. Maybe next time......) |
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