Recreating Banksy's 1.5 Billion Won Artwork Shredded, Musical 'Graffiti'

[Asia Economy Reporter Byunghee Park] On October 6, 2018, at Sotheby's auction house in London, UK, a painting was shredded immediately after being sold for ?1,042,000 (about 1.54 billion KRW). The artwork was cut by a shredder installed inside the frame. It was a painting called "Girl with Balloon" by Banksy. The person who shredded the artwork was Banksy himself, the artist who created the painting.

The musical "Graffiti," currently performing at the Arko Arts Theater Grand Theater in Daehangno, reenacts this incident on stage. The main character of "Graffiti," Navis, is a character modeled after Banksy.

The play starts boldly. The first number filling the stage with dynamic music is titled "Eden." Eden is a fictional city that serves as the spatial background of the musical "Graffiti." Ironically, Eden is a hellish paradise with extreme wealth disparity. Among the Eden numbers, the lyrics "If you have nothing, don't even raise your head" stand out impressively. Banksy also showed a cynical attitude toward capitalism through his art. An interesting start.

Musical 'Graffiti' performance scene [Photo by Wooribyeol Story]

Besides Navis, the main characters include the wealthy Viewport family. The father, Klein, is the mayor of Eden City, a global entrepreneur, and the head of an art foundation. He holds both money and power.

Klein makes money by trading contemporary art. However, his attitude toward contemporary art is hypocritical. Klein dismisses a painting by a rookie artist as if it were drawn by a child, treating it like trash. Yet he tells the artist to sell the painting, saying that even trash paintings become expensive if he gets involved. His son Tyler resents Klein, who is full of hypocrisy and vanity.

Klein Viewport, a hypocritical and vain figure holding money and power in the hellish paradise city of Eden. The play shows a clear direction from the beginning, immersing the audience. The ironic city name Eden and the setting where Tyler is called the Medici by graffiti artists also attract interest.

Klein and Tyler show decisively different values regarding graffiti. While Klein regulates graffiti as illegal, Tyler secretly helps graffiti artists behind Klein's back. The setting where Tyler is called Medici is intriguing because the Medici family in 14th-century Florence, Italy, supported artists and provided the foundation for the Renaissance.

Musical 'Graffiti' performance scene [Photo by Wooribyeol Story]

Despite many interesting settings and characters, the musical "Graffiti," as a creative premiere, shows a need to increase the density of the play. Contrary to the bold start, the play gradually feels weaker.

Above all, the role of Navis, the character modeled after Banksy, is ambiguous. In the actual play, the father Klein and son Tyler confront each other and take on more leading roles, while Navis feels somewhat peripheral in the overall story.

Regarding this, playwright Hongki Kim revealed that the work's intention was to focus not on tracing the artist Navis's actions but on showing the various human figures who follow, criticize, or exploit him. The setting where the Viewport family is more prominent than the protagonist Navis reflects the author's intention.

In the real world, Banksy has clearly emphasized his presence through distinct messages such as anti-war and anti-capitalism, whether intentionally or not. In "Graffiti," Navis claims to be just a doodler who enjoys drawing and does not want to be highlighted.

Although Navis conveys a message in the play, it is not as strong as Banksy's in the real world, such as anti-war and anti-capitalism. The play presents Navis's message in a fairy-tale manner, and since it is based on Banksy, the message feels weak and does not properly reach the audience. Because of this, Tyler's reason for following Navis is also unclear. Ultimately, this weakens Tyler's justification for resisting his father Klein.

Musical 'Graffiti' performance scene [Photo by Wooribyeol Story]

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.