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LONDON – Banksy, an anonymous British street artist, famous for his catchy political parodies, has made a million – pound sterling joke to the buyer of one of his own works.
The framed "Girl with balloon", a piece sprayed in 2006, was auctioned at
Sotheby's
in central London. Moments after being sold to an anonymous buyer for £ 1.04 million ($ 1.4 million), the canvas went through a shredder that seemed to be hidden inside the frame and emerge from below in thin bands.
"It seems that we have just received Banksy-ed," said Alex Branczik, one of Sotheby's leading directors.
A message posted on Banksy's Instagram account said, "Go, go, go …", accompanied by a photo showing a group of dismayed spectators.
In a statement posted on its website, the auction house said: "This unexpected incident has become an instant history of the art world and is certainly the first time in the history of the sale auction that an artwork is automatically torn when it is under the hammer. "
Banksy, a pseudonym, keeps his identity wrapped in mystery. He began spray painting in his home town of Bristol, in southwestern England, in the 1990s, and has since gained international fame for his politically charged street art – which often tends to appear unexpectedly – all over the world.
Many of his works were removed from the buildings and auctioned, while his 2010 documentary, "Exit Through the Gift Shop", was nominated for an Academy Award.
"Girl With Balloon", representing a child rendered in black and straining toward a heart-shaped red balloon, is one of Banksy's most recognizable works, but it was not the first to bring back more than one million dollars.
In 2008, his painting "Keep It Spotless", a painting by Damien Hirst altered by the elusive artist, was sold for $ 1.87 million at a charity event organized by Sotheby's in New York.
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