[URBAN NOTE] Banksy's in town

[rfmcdonald]

Torontoist broke the news that the famous British street artist, Banksy, is in Toronto.


Full
Originally uploaded by Aaron Forster

Three new pieces in Banksy's distinctive style have popped up on walls in Toronto over the past two days: one's near Trinity Bellwoods Park, another's near Union Station, and a final one's around the Rogers Centre. (We've been asked to keep the exact locations private, lest "bad intentions" lead to them being chipped away and sold.)

Simon Cole, director of Show & Tell Gallery and something of a graffiti expert, is himself convinced that the three are the real thing—"I have it on really good word," he says, that they are[.] We hear, too, that Banksy is currently in town to coincide with the launch of his film, Exit Through the Gift Shop. Of course, we can't phone the man himself up to confirm that the pieces are legit, but we've got a pretty big hunch that they are.

CBC provided confirmation.

Banksy was in Toronto for the opening of the film Exit Through the Gift Shop, a documentary in which he appears in disguise.

The reclusive British artist does not want to reveal his identity, because his art is created under cover of night in public spaces.

The Show & Tell Gallery in Toronto reported three images in Banksy's distinctive style that showed up over the weekend.

On Monday, his publicist confirmed via e-mail that the images were his.

Banksy's film, Exit Through the Gift Shop, is not (thanks sophistikat) being released at Toronto's Hot Docs festival. Popmatters' one-sentence summary-- "[T]he question he raises here—is there a difference between real and perceived power?—is quietly, brilliantly deconstructed in Exit Through the Gift Shop."--makes the film sound pretty interesting.


Banksy Spectators
Originally uploaded by lips of crimson