GUERRILLA ART RETURNS
‘DEVOLVED PARLIAMENT’ BANKSY’S RENAMED CANVAS GOES BACK ON DISPLAY AT BRISTOL MUSEUM
BANKSY’S largest canvas painting is to be unveiled in Bristol Museum today – almost a decade after it was last shown there.
‘Devolved Parliament’, which shows the House of Commons filled with chimps, will be on view to the public free of charge from 10am until early September.
It was previously on display in Bristol Museum back on June 12 2009, as part of the artist’s ‘Banksy versus Bristol Museum’ takeover.
The piece, which has not been seen by the public since that exhibition, is four metres wide and two and a half metres tall.
Banksy said this about it in 2009: “You paint 100 chimpanzees and they still call you a guerrilla artist.”
The value of the painting and the identity of the owner are unknown.
Bristol Museum was approached by the UK-based owner just a few weeks ago with the opportunity for ‘Devolved Parliament’ to be put on show again.
Exhibition curator Philip Walke said: “When this work was shown 10 years ago it caused a real stir and was one of the highlights of the Banksy vs Bristol Museum exhibition.
“It feels like a timely chance to
revisit the work and a great opportunity to share Banksy’s largest known work on canvas with the public again.”
‘Banksy versus Bristol Museum’ became the most visited exhibition ever recorded at the museum and one of the 10 most visited in the world in 2009.
It was estimated to have brought £15 million to the Bristol economy.
The identity of Banksy has never been confirmed, but he is known to have been born in Bristol.