The infamous artist Banksy – in the collections of Brad Pitt and other celebrities - has an exhibition of his work in his native Bristol. The exhibition is at Bristol Museum and Art Gallery runs over the summer – for the next 12 weeks from today (12th June 2009). It includes 70 new works but reveals far more than the artist ever wanted!

All sorts of measures were employed in order to keep the setting up of the exhibition secret and, of course, to protect the identity of the artist. Members of the public were told that filming was going on in the exhibition space (quite prophetic as it turns out). Most of Bristol’s council members and all employees of the Museum and Art Gallery were kept in the dark about what was really being set up in the gallery (or so Banksy thought).

Banksy Identity Revealed!

The highly secretive artist who guards his identity had pulled off a coup – or so he thought – until a Bristol CCTV operator who enjoys cider saw the opportunity to “make a few bob” (read more about this below).

Banksy Retrospective

Like, love or hate him, Banksy has to be admired for his outstanding methodology. He actually makes Art which matters and makes real statements not just the pretentious flimflam, understood only by those who admired the Emperor’s new clothes, mindless proponents of Art for Arts sake and ultra-posh Art Historian Brian Sewell.

Banksy’s Guantanamo Bay Protest 2006

It was Banksy (for example) responsible for the stunt of introducing an inflatable Guantanamo Bay Prisoner to Disney Land. The message was instant, irrefutable, effective and instantly understood. Compare that to the political rhetoric of mediocrity or of most of Banksy’s contemporaries only understood by the ultra posh. SEE the official Guantanamo Prisoner Goes to Disneyland video HERE

Who is Banksy?

Banksy’s identity will be revealed by the buyer of the information one Wilma Proops who is acting as the CCTV operator’s agent – “just as soon as the price is right” she said.

The cost will be in excess of £80 million because “if Cristiano Renaldo got that much, so should we” said the (obviously drunken) Agony Aunt turned Agent

Wilma Proops added that if she can’t flog it for that much she’ll reveal it on her website “at some time” CLICK HERE