Banksy – ‘The Art of Protest’ exhibition at La Térmica in Málaga/ Costa del Sol

The mysterious allure of Banksy, one of the world’s most renowned yet enigmatic street artists, has drawn art lovers from around the globe to explore his thought-provoking creations.

This fascination with his work is perfectly captured in the “Banksy Art of Protest Exhibition” hosted at La Térmica in Malaga, Spain.

This ‘unofficial’ exhibition is an immersive experience for anyone intrigued by the intersection of art and activism, offering a rare glimpse into the mind of an artist whose work continues to challenge societal norms and question authority.

But if you didn’t get to check out the exhibition, don’t worry, Claudia Peifer was there for TA-DAH.TV and we’ve all the info you need.

Who is Banksy?

Who, indeed! Widely regarded as one of the most influential artists of all time, Banksy’s identity still remains a mystery.

We know he’s from Bristol and that he harbours an obvious discontent for global politics. But that’s pretty much all we know about the person behind the stencils.

Accompanied by his controversial art, immersing the viewer into modern reality, the greatest PR stunt of all time (which is remaining incognito,) resulted in Banksy obtaining a prestige reputation. And honestly, it is fully deserved!

The vibrant colours and innovative methods portrayed in his works lend themselves perfectly to an exhibition of this size – especially one hosted in an old hospital!

What is La Térmica Malaga?

Spanning a massive 13,000m2, La Térmica, (The Thermal) is a beautiful building located in Malaga, Spain. Acting as a social and cultural container, the building boasts a vast array of artistic displays and exhibits.

As well as offering workshops and training, La Térmica displays a plethora of works of performing arts, cinema, fashion, design, music and more! The most recent sensation has been Banksy’s Art of Protest exhibition, offering an insight into the universe of a fascinating artist.

The exhibition contains over 40 pieces of Banksy’s work, including videos, sculptures, installations and even some original pieces. Let’s take a look at a couple of the most famous pieces TA-DAH.TV were able to see!

The Banksy Art of Protest Exhibition

In something of a change of pace from our visit to the Cezanne Ey Exhibition at the Tate Modern in London and the Gilbert & George ‘Great Exhibition at Schirn Kunsthalle, Frankfurt, The Art of Protest Offers an immersive experience for Banksy fans. And the collection went down a storm with over 60,000 fans flocking through the doors. Those visitor numbers make it La Térmica most popular exhibition to date.

The exhibition features over 40 pieces spanning Banksy’s career, including some of his most iconic images like “Girl with Balloon” and “Flower Thrower.”

Girl with Balloon

Originally painted on Waterloo Bridge in 2002, this mural is regarded as Banksy’s most famous work. The painting shows a young girl reaching for a red, heart-shaped balloon that is flying away.

Since its creation, an abundance of copies of the image have been painted around London – not to mention all the framed copies too! The image became so famous that it was even projected onto the Eiffel Tower and Nelson’s column and even made into an animated vide narrated by Idris Elba and featuring music from Elbow.

In October 2018, a framed copy of the image sold for a whopping £1,042,000 – officially the most valuable work of Banksy’s! After the image was auctioned, the painting shredded itself via a shredder inside the frame.

Yikes! However, the shredding actually made the painting more valuable and it now has a new name – “Love Is in The Bin”.

Kate Moss

Banksy released an Andy Warhol-inspired painting of Kate Moss in 2006. Originally, 50 blue versions were printed of the image, followed by 20 each in a further six colours.

After the painting had gained fame, Banksy surprised Kate Moss by putting the image in her bathroom when she was on her honeymoon. How’s that for romance!

This stunt propelled the image into the limelight, and as a result, multiple copies have sold for 6 figure sums. This image is now regarded as one of Banksy’s most recognisable works – and it comes as no surprise!

The beautiful blend of vibrant colours pays homage to Warhol’s work, as he glorified people who had reached legendary status. By adding Marilyn Monroe’s hair onto the face of Kate Moss, Banksy had cemented his status as an innovative, generation-defining artist.

Banksy in London: The Epicenter of His Work

While the Malaga exhibition offers a comprehensive look at Banksy’s work, it’s impossible to talk about the artist without mentioning his deep connection to London.

The enigmatic street artist has completed works in cities all over the world including Bristol, Liverpool, Hamburg, Paris, Chicago, San Francisco, Los Angeles, New York and even the West Bank in Palestine. But the English capital has been the canvas for many of his most famous pieces.

London’s streets, particularly North London, are dotted with Banksy’s works. Often in unexpected or understated locations, some of his more recent works are further proof of this.

7 New Banksy’s in London

With his latest speight of sprays, Banksy has proven that he’s still very much ‘in the game’. But his latest works have taken more of a zoological form.

The new works started to pop up around the English capital at the start of August and each features a different animal.

Piece one featured a goat with tumbling rocks falling underneath it. This popped up on the side of a building in Kew Bridge Next was a mural of two elephants facing each other with outstretched trunks on a building in Chelsea before three monkeys appeared on a bridge in Brick Lane, East London.

Next, the anonymous artist turned his spray can on Peckham in South East London where a howling wolf can now be seen adorning a satellite dish. After the wolf came a depiction of two hungry pelicans stealing the fish from a fish and chip shop sign in North London.

The final pieces saw a large cat added to a billboard and a school of fish added to a City of London police box.

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The enigmatic Banky will always draw a crowd, and rightly so!

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