however it appears that there is one person who is stealing the show - someone who left his work under twenty layers of paint just to be exhumed after 8 years: Banksy. and in fact the exhibit is gaining signifiant press coverage in major German newspapers such as Der Spiegel and Tagesspiegel, and quickly circulating the web.
Brad Downey, who was also part of Backjumps in 2003, brings the picture to life and exhibits it as a sort of nostalgic yearning for the times when street art was not so commercialized. back in 2003, when Downey was taking part in Backjumps alongside a relatively unknown Banksy, he was taking part in a purer form of street art, where urban artists would never dream of selling their work for thousands of euros (let alone being commissioned to graffiti their work!) - which is the case today for the most famous of street artists. his recovery of Banksy's work is to be a sentimental symbol for that time.
when asked to be part of 'DO NOT THINK', Downey chose to feature the uncovered work 'EVERY PICTURE TELLS A LITE' of the now famous Banksy as a criticism of the art market and its obsession with celebrities. yet it seems the press don't quite understand the irony of a popular urban artist exhibiting an uncovered Banksy painting as a tribute to a time when street art was ignored by the mainstream art market. as expected, the exhibition is receiving a fair amount of press but only the old Banksy painting is featured - other international artists, popular in the world of subculture, have yet to be mentioned.
Downey's statement is potent and well-received: even today's street art works are judged by their economic merit. the room containing the Banksy work is not supposed to be about Banksy at all, but instead a time warp to a different world of urban art.
see here for the exhibition on facebook. it runs until the 23rd of october, be sure to check it out and experience for yourself!
