banksy crashes the venice art biennale with unlicensed street stall

in an instagram post on may 22, 2019, banksy wonders why he’s never been asked to participate in the venice art biennale…

‘setting out my stall at the venice biennale,’ the anonymous artist writes. ‘despite being the largest and most prestigious art event in the world, for some reason I’ve never been invited.’ a minute-long video documents a concealed man setting up a tableau of framed oil paintings on the streets of the italian city. when assembled, the group of images depicts the ever-controversial cruise ships that dwarf venice’s spectacular cityscape as they make their way past the grand canal.

all images courtesy of banksy

in secretive banksy style, a camera captures unsuspecting passersby voicing their opinions about the work — but not for long. the unauthorized display caught the attention of the police, who quickly shuffled the vendor (or banksy himself), and his paintings, off the street without second thought.