Yesterday, it was reported here that a painting, “Girl With Balloon” by the elusive artist, Banksy, had sold for £1m on auction by Sotheby’s. The moment the gavel went down to confirm the sale, the painting started slipping down its in frame and half of the artwork hung in shredded tatters.

People stared open-mouthed as the painting was shredded and Banksy himself caught the moment as a photo, which he shared on his Instagram account. He has now posted a video showing us how he installed the shredder in the frame of the artwork, just in case it went on sale.

As reported by the Bristol Post, while people who don’t really understand Banksy are thinking the buyer was ripped off in the process, they really should think again. Art experts are saying that the “damaged” artwork could now be double in value.

‘Going, going, gone’

Here is the Instagram post by Banksy, which shows people open-mouthed as the painting self-destructs. The artist himself was at the auction and couldn’t resist capturing the iconic moment.

He today posted a video online to show how he secretly installed the shredder in the frame of the painting some years back. Banksy did this in case the eventuality arose that the painting was put up for sale on auction. The shredder was obviously equipped with a remote device, which the artist hit as soon as the painting sold.

The video is captioned with a quote by the Spanish artist Picasso, who had said the urge to destroy was also a creative urge.

Sotheby’s bought the small version of his iconic “Girl With Balloon” in 2006 and while some people had commented on the unusual depth of the frame, they had no idea the shredder was concealed inside.

The painting sold for £860,000 but with the buyer’s premium on the painting, the price shot up to £1.04million.

At the time of the sale, the auctioneer was seen to be talking to the winning bidder on the telephone, all the while watching as it shredded itself.

Sotheby’s employees were stunned at the incredible Banksy stunt. After the sale, two men can be seen removing the painting from the wall and taking it away, with strips of the canvas hanging below the frame.

Joey Syer of MyArtBroker told the Daily Mail that with the result of the auction and the stunt by Banksy, along with all the media attention it received, the winning bidder may see a huge return on the money he or she paid for the painting. Syer said the stunt is now part of the history of the painting and even in its half-shredded state, Banksy has just put up the value by a minimum of 50 percent, in fact, it may now be worth more than £2 million.

Banksy is well known for his anti-establishment street art which often points a satirical finger at the world as it is today. He may be anti-capitalist, but with his incredible shredder stunt, he has possibly earned the new owner of his “Girl With Balloon” painting a whole load of capital.
© ALL RIGHTS RESERVED