Banksy's Art Bootleg Miniature - Love is in the bin
Banksy's Art Bootleg Miniature - Love is in the bin
Banksy's Art Bootleg Miniature - Love is in the bin
this a custom bootleg miniature, Love is in the Bin is a 2018 art intervention by Banksy that involved a painting self-destructing at auction:
The stunt
On October 5, 2018, Banksy's painting Girl with Balloon was sold at Sotheby's London. Shortly after the sale, an alarm sounded and the canvas was partially shredded by a hidden shredder in the frame.
The aftermath
The painting was renamed Love is in the Bin and sold again at auction in October 2021 for £18,582,000, which was a record for the artist. The buyer was an anonymous Asian art collector.
Banksy's explanation
Banksy explained the stunt as a way to poke fun at the art world. He said he had secretly installed the shredder years earlier in case the painting went up for auction. He also said that the urge to destroy is a creative urge, quoting Picasso.
The reaction
The stunt received wide news coverage and was described as "quite possibly the biggest prank in art history". Sotheby's Senior Director Alex Branczik said the stunt "did not so much destroy an artwork by shredding it, but instead created one".