For many years now the artist known as ‘Banksy’ has been a secretive street artist that moved in silence as he constructed murals and pieces of art that were just as moving as say a protest of thousands of people. These very artistic and very truthful murals have been placed in the most unexpected of places. Banksy’s art, very different from anything you have seen before, is moving in a way that it first upsets you to be so blatantly placed in front of reality, but then really makes you think about how true to life the images and their meanings really are. His pieces reflect tragic events that have recently occurred and also reference turmoil in the media.
Although Banksy is said to be from the UK, his art reflects upon more of the happenings of the western world. That being said, Banksy has opened a theme park of sorts in the UK. The name of this mystical and magical place is ‘Dismaland; A Bemusement Park’. “Dismaland is absolutely not taking a stab at Disneyland” says Banksy. It is actually the complete opposite of Disneyland. It is bare and cold, sad and realistic, creepy and not at all the happiest place on earth. The following quote was taken from the article I read about Dismaland and it pretty much describes the vibe of the amusement park: “The site, whose signage bares more than a passing resemblance to Disneyland, is full of the artist’s subversive statements and epigrams on Western culture, the media, capitalism and extreme disparities of wealth”.
I believe that it is the truth of Banksy’s Dismaland that puts the world into perspective. Some of the exhibits range from an artistic depiction of a huge killer whale trying to jump through a hula-hoop into a kiddie sized swimming pool (referencing the issues with SeaWorld), a carousel with horses being prepared for the slaughter house (referencing the horse meat scandal that was uncovered recently), and cinderella’s castle with a photo-op spot next to a dead princess and a wrecked carriage. These may seem like extreme issues to recreate for the sake of art but I think that it is pure genius. It brings life to these issues that most just sweep under the rug. It gives our generation a deeper understanding of the real issues that are very prevalent to our society currently.
The entry fee to get into Dismaland is only 3 pounds ($4.70). I feel that I will be making a trip to Banksy’s site very soon. I highly recommend to those reading to do your due diligence and research this pioneer in the world of art. This is definitely not the last we will be seeing or hearing about this amazing art prophet.