Shredded Banksy back under hammer at £4m

A BANKSY painting that partially shredded itself after being sold at auction is going back under the hammer.

The subversive street artist stunned the art world when his Girl With Balloon attempted to selfdestruct in London in 2018 immediately after the conclusion of the auction. A collector had the top bid at £1.1 million.

The canvas was passed through a secret shredder hidden in the large Victorian-style frame, leaving the bottom half in tatters and only a solitary red balloon on a white background in the frame.

The painting, re-titled Love Is In The Bin after the shredding, is now back on offer and will appear at a Sotheby’s auction in October.

It has an estimated selling price of £4-6 million.

Girl With Balloon, which depicts a small child reaching up toward a heart-shaped red balloon, was originally stencilled on a wall in east London and has been endlessly reproduced, becoming one of Banksy’s best-known images.

Banksy rose to prominence through a series of graffiti pieces that appeared on buildings across the country, marked by their satirical themes.

The self-destruction was the latest in a long history of anti-establishment statements by the mysterious street artist. Other recent works included the opening of Dismaland, his dystopian, Disneyland-esque theme park in 2015, which he described as a “family theme park unsuitable for children”.

Love Is In The Bin will be offered at auction on October 14.

Sotheby’s > Banksy’s artwork Girl With Balloon, which partially shredded itself after being sold for more than £1 million at auction