Pictures Of Banksy's Theme Park Exhibition Show It's 'Unsuitable For Children’

BBC

Infamous street artist Banksy will open an ambitious new exhibition on Saturday, his first in the UK since 2009.

The Dismaland show will take place in a derelict seafront lido in Weston-Super-Mare, called the Tropicana. It will also feature work from other renowned artists Damien Hirst, Jenny Holzer and Jimmy Cauty, and will run for six weeks.

Banksy has described his new show as a ‘family theme park unsuitable for children’.

He told the BBC:

I loved the Tropicana as a kid, so getting to throw these doors open again is a real honour

He also mentioned that many of the works require ‘audience participation’:

A dead princess is only complete when surrounded by gawping crowds with their cameras out or the opportunity to photograph yourself pulling an amazed expression when a killer whale leaps from a toilet
I guess you’d say it’s a theme park whose big theme is – theme parks should have bigger themes

BBC

Locals had been told that a Hollywood film was shooting there, but speculation that Banksy was planning an exhibition was fuelled when a castle and sculpture made from tanker trucks were spotted over the walls.

The leader of North Somerset Council, Nigel Ashton, said:

We have been working closely with the organisers for months now, and for obvious reasons, have had to remain tight-lipped about the true nature of the event.
In fact, only four people in the entire council knew what was really happening.

BBC Journalist Chris Kelly described the transformation in the Tropicana by saying:

The transformation inside the Tropicana is quite stunning. It’s still the run-down lido it has been for the past 15 years, but now there’s art everywhere.
From the moment you walk through the fake airport-style security you get the dismal tone of Dismaland. Grumpy guards play the part astonishingly well.
Inside you see Banksy’s Cinderella castle and his Grim Reaper dodgem, which dances to the song Staying Alive.
But you also get a heavy dose of other local and international artists. Damien Hirst makes contributions alongside others.
And the organisers are keen to point to the show’s art credentials rather than it being just street art alone.