How a jagged paint has taken more value than the original

PARIS: When the street artist Banksy destroyed one of his works last week just seconds after his auction, he probably added to its value, some experts suggesting that it could now be worth double its original price.

Nobody knows how the secret artist activated a hidden shredder as part of her "Girl with Balloon" painting just after Sotheby's sold it last week at £ 1 042,000 ($ 1.4 million, 1, € 2 million).

The British nonconformist artist posted a video on Instagram as a result of the prank, accompanied by a quote attributed to Pablo Picasso: "The urge to destroy, it's also a craving for creativity ".

He added that he had installed the shredder in case the painting would ever be auctioned – its final price thus constituting a common record for his work.

"Banksy might think that by destroying his art he is undermining the capitalists who buy it, but he is wrong," commented Mikael Faujour of the French art magazine "Artension". "The remnants of this destruction will gain new prestige and monetary value," he said.

Thierry Ehrmann, who runs Artprice, acknowledged that the joke probably increased the value of the work. This could now be worth "more than 2 million euros," he suggested.

Arnaud Oliveux, an expert, said, because it is only partially shredded, "that it becomes something else and that it acquires the aura" of an emblematic work of art, "he said.

Artcurial will soon auction three paintings by Banksy, as well as a rat figure made of resin and holding a brush signed by the artist. Sotheby's revealed that the modified version of Banksy had been renamed "Love is in the Bin". He stated that the unidentified buyer purchased at the agreed price.