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LONDON – As the $ 1.4 million work began to pass through a shredder hidden in its frame, gasps were heard in the auction room. At about halfway through, the shredding suddenly stopped and the top of "Girl With Balloon" seemed to have been saved.
But this reprieve, according to Banksy, the street artist who created the work – and who organized the farce to destroy it – was not planned. In a clip posted on YouTube on Wednesday, Banksy hinted that he had wanted the painting to be completely destroyed at the auction in London on October 5, but that the plan had been foiled when the shredder s & rsquo; Was stuck unexpectedly.
In the clip titled "Shred The Love", a man builds the frame, his face hidden by a hoodie. "In rehearsal, it worked every time," says a legend. The video then shows a copy of "Girl With Balloon" completely shredded when she left the frame.
The copy in the clip seems to have been printed on paper, while the auctioned "Balloon Girl" was printed on canvas, a stronger material, which may explain why the shredder failed. Joanna Brooks, director of JBPR, answering media questions on behalf of Banksy, did not answer phone calls or an e-mail asking if the rehearsals had taken place on paper.
"It looks like paper, but it's possible that it's a beautiful flax," said Danielle Howe, who works at John Jones, a London-based canvas supplier. But, she added, "it's hard to determine without looking at the work in person."
Banksy's joke caused shock and amusement, but it also resulted in a series of conspiracy theories about Sotheby's involvement. "Some people think the auction house was aware they were not," Banksy said an Instagram post on Thursday to alert people to the YouTube clip.
Alex Branczik, head of Sotheby's contemporary art in Europe, also denied any collusion. In an interview published Wednesday by The Art Newspaper, he said that Sotheby's had asked Pest Control, Banksy's official authentication body, if the color frame could be removed before the auction.
"Pest control has made it very clear: the framework is an integral part of the work," said Branczik.
He added that a "third party restaurateur" had inspected the frame but had not noticed the shredder. "You approach what you see – it looked more like a sculpture," said Branczik. The curator did not dismantle the frame, he added.
The buyer of the work of art has kept the work. It is now called "The love is in the trash" after Pest Control issued a new authentication certificate for the job.
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