BANKSKY IN A UNDERGRUND SPACE IN PARIS

A MUST SEE

« "It's an immersive exhibition, to better communicate a message. Here, the message is striking. We wanted to stay in the rebellious, revolutionary spirit of street art, "said Hazis Vardar, Lafayette-Drouot's manager.


Large immersive and Parisian exhibition celebrates the world star of street art: Banksky.

The rebellious frescoes of the mysterious Banksy, whose identity nobody knows, are reconstructed life-size alongside paintings of the famous street-artist British, on the occasion of an immersive exhibition

A revolutionary immersive exhibition of street art

The exhibition entitled The World of Banksy: The Immersive Experience occupies 1,200 m² and three levels, partly underground. 42 frescoes were made on concrete walls alongside 51 framed works by the Bristol street-artist, from private collections.

The Espace Lafayette-Drouot, a new place dedicated to "artertainment" ("contraction of art and entertainment"), named after its founder Hazis Vardar, has conceived an immersive journey completely unpublished through the work of the street artist subscribed to splinters.

The latest, the self-destruction of one of his works at auction at Sotheby's last October (see article)

A captivating stroll through an underground space

The graffiti artist 's work can only be understood in a street context. "It's an immersive exhibition, to better communicate a message. Here, the message is striking. We wanted to stay in the rebellious, revolutionary spirit of street art, "said Hazis Vardar, Lafayette-Drouot's manager.

The experiment starts wisely with a series of framed lithographs lent by private collectors: the anarchist rat, the little girl with the red balloon, Pulp Fiction ...

On an ocher-colored wall are the little girl with the balloon, the dove in armor, but also the launcher of flowers, iconic works signed by the mysterious Banksy.

A tribute to Banksy by several artists

The strolling plunges the viewer into the streets of London, New York, Bethlehem, Bristol and of course Paris in the footsteps of the graffiti artist

The viewer then discovers Banksy murals reproduced life-size by street artists from around the world who wanted to remain anonymous.


Working collectively for thirty days, they reconstructed streets "in normal size" to "recontextualize the work of Banksy," said Hazis Vardar, manager Lafayette-Drouot. Bethlehem Land, the mural painted on the wall of Bethlehem as the stencil of the young woman weeping at the door of the Bataclan in Paris, stolen in January, were returned in full size by a dozen graffiti artists from around the world.

Not the original works but reproductions

The Parisian theater offers an immersion in the most emblematic works of the artist. Forty reproductions punctuate the course: "We can not have the original ones.

They have all been vandalized or removed for some. We can not help but make copies. And especially works that are physically around the world, for those that still exist. So even if someone wants to see them, he should do San Francisco, Paris, London ... around the world! ", Details Hazis Vardar, curator of the exhibition.

When on the art market, his works do not fly or are not cut in situ to be resold under the mantle.

The most famous street artist of his time denounces the tricks of a sick society in works that dress the walls of the world.

The frescoes say innocence crushed by force, but also acts of resistance or insolence against Israeli consumerism or occupation, etc.

The art of the committed Bristol graffiti artist dynamizes its codes, reinventing its rules, while questioning the very foundations of urban art.

A stroll as captivating as it is insane !!! A must see.

The World of Banksy Exhibition: The Immersive Experience

From 13/06/2019 to 29/09/2019

Espace Lafayette Drouot, 44, Rue Du Faubourg Montmartre 75009 Paris

Joanne Courbet for DayNewsWorld