18 THE ART OBSERVER August 2009 By Wendy J Levy ON THE  recommendation of the artist, Lisa De Prudhoe, I went to Bristol to see the Banksy exhibi- tion that was showing there until 31st August. Unfortunately, the exhibition will be over by the time you read this article but it was such an unusual and enter- taining exhibition that I feel the need to share it with you. For those who haven’t heard of Banksy, for which you can be forgiven because he wants to remain anonymous, he is a graffiti artist. The name ‘Banksy’ is actually very well known, it is the man behind the name who remains anonymous. We don’t know what his real name is, or what he looks like, he is like the Scarlet Pimpernel. Apparently, he mounted the exhibition at night when nobody was about and all the CCTV cameras were turned off so that he could not be identified. I have never queued for two hours to see anything before. I did for Banksy - and then went back two weeks later for another look, and queued for three hours this time! It was well-worth the wait.   EXHIBITION REVIEW One of my favourite pieces was a painting of people working in the fields. One of the workers, a woman, had been literally cut out of the canvas and she was seen perching on the edge of the frame taking a break with a cigarette in her hand. There were several installations that were thought provoking and exceedingly clever. Inside a cage was an ageing white rabbit positioned in front of a dressing table laden with makeup. The rabbit was wearing a pearl necklace and manicuring her nails (I mean REALLY filing her nails whilst ACTUALLY fluttering her eyelids!) There were Old Master style paintings that Banksy had played around with and there was a Damien Hirst painting that was much improved by Banksy’s graffiti.   Bristol Museum didn’t know what had hit it. From 13th June until 31st August, every day of the week people queued for hours to get into the museum. Such is the impact of Banksy and such is the power of intrigue! It is believed that Banksy was born in 1974 and brought up in Bristol. He defends Graffiti art as being an honest art form because there is no elitism or hype and nobody has to pay to look at it (admission to his exhibition at the Bristol Museum was free). Along with thousands of other people I find myself intrigued by this mysterious artist. He is obviously very intelligent and is not afraid of making a political statement within his works of art, and mockery is frequently apparent. It is evident that he has a wry and wonderful sense of humour and is also very skilled - I was amazed at the diversity of his work within the exhibition. He was in his teens when he became heavily involved in graf- fiti. When he was eighteen years old he spent one night trying to paint ‘LATE AGAIN’ in big silver bubble letters on the side of a passenger train. He ran off when British transport police arrived and he managed to hide under a dumper truck with oil leaking all over him. During the hour he lay there, listening out for the police, it occurred to him that he had to cut his painting time in half or give up altogether. This is when he realised that stencilling was the way forward. Banksy has travelled the world and has left his mark in many places. His work is often perti- nent to its location; sometimes inducing laughter and sometimes carrying a strong political mes- sage. If the man known as Banksy is discovered, the graffiti will have to stop. Will there be a time when he wants to come out of hiding and be recognised for the art he has created? I would love to know who he is; but if my curiosity is satisfied the intrigue would be lost.   This was Banksy’s first exhibition in a three storey museum - let’s hope it won’t be the last. All photosgraphs by Daniel Viera Rivas Banksy Versus Bristol Museum