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The successful stencil artist, currently has an exhibition in his former hometown, Bristol. Could its visitors however be actually the best part?

The exhibition, paid for entirely by the graffiti artist was visited by over 10,000 people during its opening weekend, (4,000 on the Monday our contributor Sean O'Toole visited).

“Far more than any other show we’ve had,” said a beleaguered museum official marshalling the queue.

Bored of looking at the art – an assembly of one-liners, some very funny, others not – art critic and photographer, Sean O'Toole started photographing the various people photographing Banksy’s work, which is interspersed with the museum’s usual display of prehistoric bones, stuffed birds, and pottery...

This work is titled: Agency Job (Gleaners), 2009

A work to make EasyJet overlord Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou smile: Flight to Egypt (Budget Version), 2009

How do you like your eggs fried? asks the title of this 2009 work by Banksy. Shaken not stirred, responds the viewer.

“He's a surrealist who makes you think about the world in a completely different way,” said Damien Hirst in 2006 of Banksy.  The Bristol artist’s retort: this Improved Spot Painting, 2009.

Actually, Banksy has previously collaborated with Hirst, who has a significant collection of his work, a similar work collaborative piece selling for $1.8million at a charity auction hosted by U2 singer Bono.

“What is that?” wondered the man in a thick Australian accent. “A chastity belt?”

Shot in Bristol's City Museum & Art Gallery, which is hosting “Banksy versus Bristol Museum”, the exhibition is a “collaboration” between the city's foremost cultural institution, a three storey Edwardian building, and Banksy, arguably the biggest name in contemporary street art and a son of Bristol.

Some works are titled, others – like the one below are not. Adding to Banksy's life in the shadows, the works that are credited, are labelled to a “local artist”, not Banksy.

 

With special thanks to Sean O'Toole

To see more photographs from Sean O'Toole click here www.swide.com-101-art-ideas-you-can-do-yourself

Source & Photo Credit: Sean O'Toole

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