Fri 15 October 2021:
A self-shredded artwork by British street artist Banksy has received a record price at auction.
“Love is in the Bin” was offered on sale by Sotheby’s in London, with a presale estimate of £4m to £6m (€4.7m to €7.1m).
However, the sale price on Thursday was around £18.5 million (€21.8 million), three times the high estimate, which was a record for the artist.
After a 10-minute bidding war involving nine bidders in the saleroom, online and over the phone, it sold for three times its higher estimate.
A half-shredded canvas in an elaborate frame with a spray-painted image of a girl reaching for a heart-shaped red balloon makes up the artwork.
It was last sold three years ago in October 2018 at Sotheby’s under the tag “Girl With Balloon.”
Alex Branczik, Sotheby’s chairman of modern and contemporary art, called the shredding “one of the most ingenious moments of performance art this century”.
A secret shredder inserted in the frame by Banksy whirred to life just as an unnamed European bidder placed the winning bid, leaving half the artwork hanging from the frame in strips.
“The ultimate Banksy artwork,” according to Sotheby’s, was created as a result of the stunt.
“Girl With Balloon” was stenciled on a wall in east London and has since been constantly reproduced, becoming one of Banksy’s most well-known pictures.
A Banksy mural honoring Britain’s health workers, which was previously painted on a hospital wall and sold for £16.8 million (€19.8 million) at a Christie’s auction in March, sold for £16.8 million (€19.8 million).
Banksy, who has never confirmed his full identity, began his career spray-painting buildings in Bristol, England, and has become one of the world’s best-known artists.
His mischievous and often satirical images include two male police officers kissing, armed riot police with yellow smiley faces and a chimpanzee with a sign bearing the words, “Laugh now, but one day I’ll be in charge.”
Several of his works have sold for multiple millions at auction.
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