A Banksy artwork that has never been auctioned before could fetch £180,000 when it goes under the hammer next month. The work of art, different to his usual murals, is a curious take on a disco ball made from a police riot helmet.
It features tiny mirrored tiles applied to the original helmet, is numbered and bears the mysterious artist’s signature, which is inscribed on the inside. Only 50 of them have ever been made.
The ‘disco ball’ is one of a selection of works offered by the artist in his Gross Domestic Product project from 2019, where he sold directly to fans at a shop in Croydon, South London without the help of galleries and auction houses. The piece of art will go under the hammer in the sale Only Banksy at Forum Auctions in London on November 8.
Since 2016, Forum Auctions has been the only auction house in the capital to hold dedicated sales of Banksy’s work.
Among the other works on offer at GDP was a Union Jack emblazoned stab-proof vest, which was worn by the rapper Stormzy on the Pyramid Stage at Glastonbury in 2019, and an ironic clutch bag made from a house brick “for the kind of person who doesn’t carry much but might need to whack someone in the face”.
However, buyers could not enter the shop and were instead directed to a website where they could ‘apply’ to purchase one item only. The application to purchase was accepted or declined via a lottery process, based on merit.
Potential buyers were asked the question: “Why does art matter” and their responses were judged by the comedian Adam Bloom. If they were deemed amusing, entertaining or original enough, their name was entered into a lottery to win their chosen object.
Some of the works were as cheap as £10 to emphasise an ethos of art being accessible. Potential customers were told they would keep the copyright of their caption or handwriting.
The artist eventually opened the shop in response to trademark issues. Forum Auctions in Battersea is London’s specialist auction house for works on paper.
