IMPORTANT: The artist known as Banksy is not involved in this exhibition and has not provided any endorsements or support nor artworks for this show. This municipal exhibition is independently curated and presented.
The artworks and objects presented in the exhibition are all from private collections.
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"If you want to say something and have people listen then you have to wear a mask. If you want to be honest then you have to live a lie."
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Nobody has ever seen him, nobody knows his face, and there are no photos showing him unmasked: yet BANKSY conquers the world through works of unheard of ethical, evocative and thematic power. Originally from Bristol, born around 1974, and framed within the generic confines of Street Art, Banksy represents an exemplary case of popularity for a living artist since the time of Warhol. AKA Banksy co-curated by Acoris Andipa, Stefano Antonelli, Gianluca Marziani and produced by the MetaMorfosi Associazione Culturale, in collaoration with Ferrara Arte brings together over 100 original works by the provcatively poignant artist.
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Drawing on the most important works in the trememdous rise of the artist, AKA Banksy is a powerful statement of intent. A manifesto dressed as an anti-manifesto held to the world with a raised middle finger. Despite the provocations, the wit and, of course, the artistry - there remains a playfulness and dextrous use of, not only his materials, but the visual and written language on which they rest. An iron fist wrapped in soft blanket sheds light on the artist's ability to lure the viewer in with an image only to hit them fully with the message behind the work.
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Love Rat, 2004, screen print on paper
"They live in quiet desperation amongst the filth. And yet they are capable of bringing entire civilizations to their knees. If you are dirty, insignificant, and unloved then rats are the ultimate role model."
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In our world we have put great stress on being authentic. But what does this actually mean? Esepcailly as we have discussed for centuries in darkened corridors that we are almost never our "true" selves. No, we all wear masks of one kind or of another and some of these masks are so well-fittin that we do not even realise we are wearing them at all.
So, what happens to us when we engage with an artist such as Banksy who literally wears a mask at rare public inteviews or in his film, Exit Through the Gift Shop, so that he can say and do things that we all wished we could say and do ourselves. Addressing challenging and ever-present issues with pignant and humourous one-liner artworks, Banksy makes us first laugh and then wince, as we consider what is actually being presented before us: poverty, injustice, inequality, war, politics and a whole spectrum of social issues, historical and present day.
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"Artwork that is only about wanting to be famous will never make you famous. Any fame is a by-product of making something that means something. You don't go to a restaurant and order a meal because you want to have a shit.”
