An “unauthorized” exhibit of British artist Banksy, “the most important contemporary artist of the 20th century,” according to the Jude Law-starrer series The Young Pope, has moved from the Metropolitan Museum (The M) Museum in Bonifacio Global City, Taguig City, to Fashion Interiors in Makati City.
Following an almost a year of successful Banksy Universe exhibit in The M last year, several pieces from Banksy Universe alongside new ones are on display in Makati. The controversial graffiti artist has been known for mounting surprise “unauthorized” exhibits in unlikely places like demolished buildings in war-torn countries as a form of protest against tyranny and displacement of innocents like children.
Among on display in Makati is Banksy’s Kate Moss print series, based on the artist’s 2005 screen on paper works depicting the British supermodel as Marilyn Monroe. It is inspired by Andy Warhol’s iconic Monroe silkscreened paintings, portraying Moss as a modern-day sex symbol like Monroe.
In 2011, Banksy reportedly gifted a unique edition of the series to Moss, as a wedding gift for her honeymoon, where she was surprised to see the artwork in her hotel bathroom waiting for her.
Another notable artwork on display is a duplicate of the Peckham Rock, a piece of shattered concrete “surreptitiously” installed in the British Museum’s Roman Britain gallery and went unnoticed for three days. Now under a new name, Wall Art, the artwork that deceptively looks like a caveman artifact has been made a part of the museum’s special exhibition, I Object.
Also on view in Makati are copies of the artist’s iconic works, including Love is in the Air, showing a young man throwing a bouquet of flowers as though it was a grenade or a Molotov cocktail. It first appeared in 2003 as a mural in Jerusalem as a protest for the construction of the West Bank Wall.