Exhibition: Banking on Banksy

Christ With Shopping Bags, Banksy

An exhibition of prints by Banksy has opened in the Red Eight Gallery at the Royal Exchange. As an artist whose work has always taken a swipe at excessive wealth, war, poverty and injustice of all sorts, there is a certain irony finding it on sale in the heart of the City. But the clue is in the title. When you check out the prices tags, ranging from £25,000 - £2.5 million - you can see why investment bankers are flocking to buy them. One original stencil on metal of a gorilla wearing an apron reading: 'Laugh now, but one day we'll be in charge' is expected to raise £4 million.

The show includes the beautiful Girl With Balloon, Stop and Search and No Ball Games. Christ with Shopping Bags is quite a profound commentary on the Crucifixion of Jesus - weighed down down by human greed in the form of shopping bags and parcels.

Each image in the exhibition has a QR code telling the story of the original image.

Upstairs in the gallery by the window there are some beautiful little models of the Separation Wall around Bethlehem - with small images on them. These are put together by Banksy's helpers in the West Bank - part of his Walled Off Hotel project, now a top tourist attraction in the Holy Land. Read more about that here

Banksy's work is always razor sharp and topical. His Civilian Drone Strike was a powerful statement against the London Arms Fair. Happy Choppers, CND Soldiers and Bomb Love are all strong anti-war messages. He (or could it be she?) also comes across as kind and funny. During the Covid lockdown a picture of a boy playing with an NHS nurse doll appeared in the foyer of Southampton Hospital with a thank you note to staff there. Later it raised more than £16 million in an NHS charity auction.

The opening night last week attracted a huge crowd - among them singer Mica Paris, Love Island's Nathalia Campos, Neighbours actress Emily Milburn, and model Victoria Valentine Brown. Apparently more than a thousand people applied for tickets to the show. The organisers were only able to fit in 500. But the exhibition runs until 15 September. So there is still plenty of time to catch it. Well worth seeing.

Banking on Banksy is at the Red Eight Gallery in The Royal Exchange, Bank, EC3V 3LR. Entry is free.

For more information see: www.artsy.net/show/red-eight-gallery-banking-on-banksy?sort=partner_show_position

Red Eight Gallery: www.redeightgallery.com/

Banksy: https://banksy.co.uk/out.html