going, going, gone! banksy artwork self-destructs after just selling for over $1 million

an artwork by banksy self-destructed moments after it was sold at auction for more than £1 million (approximately $1.36m USD). the item under the hammer at sotheby’s auction house in london was a framed version of the ‘girl with balloon’, a 2002 mural depicting a young girl letting go of a red heart-shaped balloon. immediately after the item sold, the canvas spontaneously made its way through a shredder — which had been integrated in the picture’s hefty frame — to the absolute shock of guests in attendance.

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Going, going, gone…
A post shared by Banksy (@banksy) on Oct 5, 2018 at 6:45pm PDT

the elusive artist posted an image of the auction on his instagram page, with the caption: ‘going, going, gone…’. ‘it appears we just got banksy-ed,’ said alex branczik, senior director and head of contemporary art of europe london while at the auction. the unexpected incident instantly became art world history.

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A post shared by Casterline | Goodman Gallery (@casterlinegoodmangallery) on Oct 5, 2018 at 1:14pm PDT

sotheby’s has since revealed on their instagram that banksy has agreed to ‘re-authenticate’ the piece with a new title, love is in the bin (2018). amid speculation of sotheby’s collaborating with banksy to pull of the stunt the gallery has firmly denied any involvement contemporary specialist alex branczik wrote in a recent instagram post:

let’s end the speculation and crazy conspiracy stories. banksy didn’t destroy an artwork during our evening sale last week; he created one. this is the newly titled love is in the bin, 2018. were we in on it? absolutely not. do you really think banksy, who spent his youth stencilling walls in bristol and dodging the local authorities, would want to collaborate with the art establishment? come on, you should all know better that.

it has also been revealed that the evolved piece will be on show at sotheby’s london over the weekend. love is in the bin (2018) will be on view to the public in the gallery’s new bond street galleries on saturday and sunday 13^th and 14^th october from noon until 5pm.

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We are pleased to announce that the winning bidder on @Banksy’s ‘Girl with Balloon’ last Friday night in London has confirmed their decision to acquire the new work that was created in our salesroom. Newly titled ‘Love is in the Bin’, the piece has become the first artwork in history to have been created live during an auction. The buyer, a female European collector and a long-standing client of Sotheby’s, is proceeding with the purchase at the same price as was achieved in the room on the night. ‘Love is in the Bin’ will be on view to the public in Sotheby’s New Bond Street galleries in #London on Saturday and Sunday 13th and 14th October from noon until 5pm. Final entry to the galleries at 4.40pm. #LoveIsInTheBin #SothebysContemporary #Banksy
A post shared by Sotheby’s (@sothebys) on Oct 11, 2018 at 10:09am PDT