Timeline 07

Welcome (Gross Domestic Product)

2019 Mixed media 42x64 cm

The work consists of a mat stitched with the word “welcome” using the material which life vests are made with. The straps supporting the buckles are sewn along the rear edging, so it can be used as a life vest.

This limited-edition multiple work was done in collaboration with Love Welcomes, a digital company that, with a contemporary aesthetic, markets objects made by refugees in refugee camps, or by craftspeople in war zones. fatal collecting/wealth dualism, Banksy demolishes this custom with new positions and roles in a world to be deeply rethought.

The content of Welcome barely needs explaining: the phenomenon of migrations along the Mediterranean route, addressing those who abandon their homes and their domestic memory. Not limiting himself to conceptual actions, Banksy purchased a former French warship which he refitted to carry out rescue activities at sea along the critical Mediterranean routes. The ship is called Louise Michel, in memory of a historic French activist; its flank is painted with Banksy’s most popular girl holding a heart-shaped safety float, and no longer a balloon.

The work was marketed in 2019 in the usual surprising way: in October, Banksy had a performance titled Gross Domestic Product, renting an unused shop in London’s Croydon neighborhood to display a series of items, including the mat, in the window; he then launched a website called Gross Domestic Products, where the items in question could be purchased. Or more accurately, users could enter a lottery from which the people who could then purchase the items would be drawn. Some of the lucky lottery winners who had the opportunity to purchase the work put them up for sale to make a profit (and this is what happens, because Banksy sells his works to the public far below market prices). This work is from an anonymous, randomly drawn purchaser—not a collector but a typical Banksy fan. By breaking the

Brad Downey Diver / TV Girl / Toxic Mary

2003-2020 Hyperspectral photography, plaster, concrete, paint, light-box, transparency, glass 151x231x25 cm

In 2003, Künstlerhaus Bethanien, a major German public cultural institution, organized a collective show selecting the best representatives of an art movement then gaining notice, which was to become established a few years later with the name of “street art”. Banksy and Brad Downey were among the invited artists. Downey, an American artist living and working in Berlin, was a seminal standard-bearer of this idea: the entire nascent street art scene looked at his work, which ironically and irreverently organized and manipulated the visual elements that make up the city, using the languages of installation and performance. Banksy also saw Brad Downey’s work. Although until this time his activity had been mostly linked to the stencil, after meeting Brad Downey Banksy was to begin using the languages of performance and installation with which the American artist was besieging half of Europe. For the show at the Bethanien, Banksy was given a small exhibition room, where he produced some of his classic stencils and three large Flying Coppers topped with the words: “Every picture tells a lie”. Several rooms away, Brad Downey was presenting certain installations. Eight years later, Downey was invited back to the Bethanien to present a new project; the room where he was to do so was the same one where Banksy had worked, only this time it was painted red. Downey suspected that Banksy’s works were beneath that layer of paint, and the Bethanien’s maintenance office confirmed it. At that point, he decided to change projects. The one he was to present would be a reappropriation of Banksy’s works, presented as Downey’s. What you see here are portions of the Bethanien’s wall that Downey cut out in correspondence with the works done by Banksy in 2003. Banksy’s works underlying the layer of red paint may be seen through the images obtained using the technique of hyperspectral photography.

The first official cover designed by Banksy was for Jamie Eastman's record label Hombré Records. He designed the cover for hip-hop band One Cut's Cut Commander 12” EP in 1998 and their remix CD album Hombrémix. There is a large amount of records illustrated with Banksy's works, among these, one part was actually illustrated by Banksy, while the others were illustrated by independent record labels simply appropriating Banksy's imagery circulating at the time, demonstrating how much he was already known and influential in British underground cultural production circles, in the first half of the 2000s. This section presents a catalog of all the vinyls and CDs illustrated by Banksy.

1998, One Cut—“Cut Commander”—12” EP on Jamie Eastman’s Hombré label. Banksy and Jamie were friends and Banksy moved to London with Eastman in 1998. One Cut was a trio made up of REDS, Risky Biz and Masterchef.

2000, One Cut—“Grand Theft Audio”—Double LP. 1999, Capoeira Twins—“Four (4 x 3) / Truth Will Out”—Promotional 12” single in a limited edition of 100 copies with cover spray painted by Banksy, released on John Stapleton’s Blowpop Record label.

2000, One Cut—“Mr. X / Rhythm Geometry” 12” EP. 1999, One Cut—“Hombrémix”—Remix album only released on CD by the Hombré label.

2000, Dynamic Duo—“Styles by the Dozen”—12” EP with Banksy’s “Insane Clown” motif on the label.

2000, Various Artists—“We Love You... So Love Us”—Released on the Wall of Sound label that would replace Hombré as Banksy’s preferred label. It was released on CD and as a limited edition LP (1000 copies).

2000, One Cut—“Armour Plated, X-rated”— Promotional CD, or One Cut’s album ”Grand Theft Audio”. The CD has a different track order from the finally released LP.

2002, Roots Manuva—“Badmeaningood, Vol 2”— Compilation double LP of remixes. 2000, Various Artists compilation—“We Love You... So Love Us Too”—CD compilation on the Wall of Sound label with Banksy’s “Cop Under Fire” image.

2000, Dynamic Duo / Nasty P—“Skateboards”—A promotional four-track CD released to advertise Clown Skateboards with two tracks each by Dynamic Duo (Niall Dailly, Bryan Jones) and Nasty P (Paul Rutherford). The cover shows Banksy’s “Insane Clown”.

2002, Skitz—“Badmeaningood, Vol 1”—Compilation double LP by Skitz (a.k.a. Joe Cole) of remixes. 2000, Monk & Canatella—“Do Community Service”—Trip hop CD, released by Bristol duo Simon Russell and Jim Johnson under the name Monk & Canatella.

2001, Roots Manuva—”Yellow Submarine”—Single-sided 12” single on the Ultimate Dilemma label by Roots Manuva (a.k.a. Rodney Hylton Smith).

2002, Blak Twang—“Trixtar”—12” single.