Banksy – A Vandal Turned Idol. Berlin 2023/2024. Official Exhibition Catalogue Concertbüro Zahlmann GmbH

Abstract

The purpose of this cata­logue and, implicitly, of the exhibition it advertises, as it’s briefly stated by its promot­ers, Burghard Zahlmann and Alexander Zahlmann, is to make known to a wider public a number of original works and prints by Banksy, formerly not shown in Germany. It also means to bring works out of private collections and make them more accessible through the multimedia concept of the exhibition. Consequently, a discussion of the catalogue, cannot be separated from an assessment of the works presented, an analysis of the way they are presented and an evaluation of the audio guide provided in order to decipher the meanings of the works. The complementarity between the printed object, the catalogue itself, the spatial layout of the exhibition, the oral discourse and the visual element, provided by the artist’s works, is as fascinating as the occasional discrepancies. It is perhaps fitting that one of the main features of the exhibition is a re-creation of the artist’s studio. As Banksy is an elusive character, whose identity remains shrouded in mystery, the thirst for biographical details is quenched by the recreation of his studio from indirect visual evidence such as photos and videos. This suggests already that Banksy’s artistic persona and his creative genius can be accessed primarily and almost solely from his works.