The Art of Banksy hours extended

The Art of Banksy hours extended

Due to overwhelming demand,
exhibition hours extended

BANKSY BY NIGHT

Auckland only | Aotea Centre | Must close 6 February
Tickets on sale at Ticketmaster
* Booking fee applies

Due to overwhelming demand, producers today announce they are extending the hours of THE ART OF BANKSY EXHIBITION to allow more people to see it before it leaves the country – some pieces never to be seen in public again.

The exhibition, at Auckland's Aotea Centre featuring 80 pieces by one of the most intriguing and talked-about artists in modern history, will remain open until 10pm on 2 & 3 February. It opens from 10am to 5pmall other days but closes for good on 6 February. People who have pre-purchased tickets are urged to redeem them ASAP to avoid missing out as daily numbers are strictly limited.

Producer Stewart Macpherson from The Stetson Group says an extraordinary number of people have visited the exhibition this summer, making it one of the most successful art exhibitions New Zealand has ever hosted.

“We don’t want anyone missing out,” says Macpherson. “People will be able to come after work on those days plus it’s the weekend before Waitangi Day. Just saying, make it a long long weekend and visit Auckland and the exhibition!"

Macpherson says part of the reason he thinks the exhibition has been so successful is that Banksy’s messaging resonates with New Zealanders’ strong social conscience.

“As Kiwis, we’re not afraid to stick it to the establishment. To stand up for social justice. Make statements on global issues. Be a big voice in a small body. To me, Banksy encapsulates everything we stand for.”

The exhibition, curated by the artist's former manager Steve Lazarides, displays the largest collection of Banksy's works, including the famous painting of the girl with the red balloon, known as "Girl and Balloon", the controversial work "Laugh Now" – a famous graffiti piece that depicts a monkey with a sign hanging from his neck with the words: "Laugh now, but one day we'll be in charge."

On loan from private collectors from throughout the world, this $40 million collection offers a rare opportunity for New Zealanders to enter Banksy’s world.

Tickets are on sale today via Ticketmaster. A booking fee applies.

Banksy, who refrains from revealing his identity and does not appear in public, is a painter, graffiti artist and social activist, considered one of the world's top political graffiti artists.

Banksy's satirical art and his subversive messages, which integrate cynical dark humor, are done using his unique stencil technique. His various works, which aside from paintings also include sculptures and special displays, have been displayed on city walls, bridges and streets throughout the world.

www.theartofbanksy.nz

Banksy has said that he decided to adopt the stencil technique when, while hiding from police under a garbage truck.

“When I was 18 I spent one night trying to paint LATE AGAIN in big silver bubble letters on the side of a passenger train. British transport police showed up and I got ripped to shreds running away through a thorny bush. The rest of my mates made it to the car and disappeared so I spent over an hour hiding under a dumper truck with engine oil leaking all over me. As I lay there listening to the cops on the tracks I realised I had to cut my painting time in half or give up altogether. I was staring straight up at the stencilled plate on the bottom of a fuel tank when I realised I could just copy that style and make each letter three feet high.

I got home at last and crawled into bed next to my girlfriend. I told her I’d had an epiphany that night and she told me to stop taking that drug ‘cos it’s bad for your heart.”

Working with stencils is considered fast, and the large number of his works in the streets of Bristol quickly made him into part of the underground art movement, that developed in the area at the end of the 1980s.

Over the years, Banksy has carried out a considerable number of "pranks" against the art establishment, including secretly hanging his works inside various museums around the world, such as the Museum of Modern Art, the Tate Britain museum, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Brooklyn Museum, and the American Museum of Natural History.

“This is a one of a kind exhibition – you will never again have the opportunity to see so many works in one place. Once the exhibition is over, the artwork will be returned to 40 different art collectors around the world, and the chances that they will be displayed together again in the future are extremely slim”. - Steve Lazarides, curator

The exhibition, suitable for the whole family, will be on display at Auckland’s Aotea Centre from 5 January to 6 February daily, including Auckland Anniversary Day and Waitangi Day. The exhibition is being brought to New Zealand through the partnership of Live Nation with Auckland Live and The Stetson Group.

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