39. BANKSY
Banksy's Weston Super Mare is one of the artists most well-known prints. Pictures on Walls originally published the screenprint in 2003 in an edition of 750, with only the first 150 copies signed, including the present example. It depicts an elderly citizen sitting blissfully unaware on a bench, hands calmly folded in his lap, as a ferocious circular saw cuts its way through the promenade towards him. The contented gentleman and the cheery seaside setting of Weston-super-Mare in North Somerset, England, are juxtaposed by the saws violent reminder that death is never far away. Conversely, the more optimistic message is to live in the moment and enjoy ones life.
For five weeks in the summer of 2015 Banksy opened a dystopian theme park named Dismaland in Weston-super-Mare. It was a sinister twist on Disneyland1 with contributions from 58 artists known for their social and political commentary, including Damien Hirst (born 1965) and David Shrigley (born 1968). Banksy described it as a bemusement park a family theme park unsuitable for children.2 During the Dismaland exhibition there was a great surge in popularity for Weston Super Mare which continues to make it even more collectible today.
Footnotes:
1. Is Banksy about to open a new exhibition in Weston-super-Mare?, Bristol Post, 17 August 2015
2. Banksy Dismaland show revealed at Weston's Tropicana, BBC News, 20 August 2015
Asta Cameron