Names and faces
■ A Banksy artwork that sensationally self-shredded just after it sold for $1.4 million is up for sale again — at several times the previous price. Auctioneer Sotheby’s said Friday that “Love Is in the Bin” will be offered at a sale in London on Oct. 14. The piece has a pre-sale estimate of $5.5 million to $8.3 million. It consists of a half-shredded canvas bearing a spray-painted image of a girl reaching for a heart-shaped red balloon. Then known as “Girl With Balloon,” the work was sold at Sotheby’s in October 2018. Just as an anonymous European buyer made the winning bid, a hidden shredder embedded in the frame by Banksy whirred to life, leaving half the canvas hanging from the frame in strips. The buyer decided to go through with the purchase — a decision that would be vindicated if the picture achieves its estimated price. “’Love Is in the Bin’ was born of the most spectacular artistic happening of the 21st century,” said Alex Branczik, Sotheby’s chairman of Modern and Contemporary Art. “When ‘Girl With Balloon’ ‘self-destructed’ in our saleroom, Banksy sparked a global sensation that has since become a cultural phenomenon.” Banksy, who has never confirmed his full identity, began his career spray-painting buildings in Bristol, England, and has become one of the world’s best-known artists. His mischievous and often satirical images include two policemen kissing, armed riot police with yellow smiley faces and a chimpanzee with a sign bearing the words, “Laugh now, but one day I’ll be in charge.” “Girl With Balloon” was originally stenciled on a wall in east London and has been endlessly reproduced, becoming one of Banksy’s best-known images.
■ The latest adventure for “Game of Thrones” actor Gwendoline Christie is the audiobook for one of publishing’s most imaginative storytellers, Brian Selznick. Selznick’s “Kaleidoscope,” the latest work from the author of “The Invention of Hugo Cabret,” comes out Sept. 21 in hardcover, e-book and audio, which will feature Christie’s narration and music from Obie winner Robert Een. Scholastic is billing the book as “a multi-layered and spellbinding story about love, loss and friendship.” Christie, who portrayed Brienne of Tarth in “Game of Thrones,” added her own superlatives Thursday, saying in a statement that she found the book “captivating, wildly imaginative and thrillingly phantasmagorical.” “Let him gently take you by the hand on this sensitive multilayered journey through time, space, and emotion. Brian makes us realize the magic in simply being human,” said Christie, also known for her roles in “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” and “Star Wars: The Last Jedi.” She is scheduled to appear as Lucifer in the Netflix series “Sandman,” based on the Neil Gaiman comic book.