Can It

For a long time Banksy has captured the publics attention with a variety of imaginative and stimulating stunts or ideas. Always pushing his pseudo political stance via various inventive means. His most recent venture, the Can Festival, was his most tame, and its legality might have had something to do with it. His respect amongst urban artists has been fairly constant despite increasing mainstream appeal. As an artist, his notoriety is almost as much based on his subversive tactics as his art. From sneaking works into galleries to a range of stencils in awkward places it has become increasingly hard to top himself. This latest event was 100% legal and it showed. Visitors were invited to bring their own stencils to what was one of the most cringe worthy areas I have ever seen: Walls coated in ‘wannabee Banksy’ stencils, some straight copies. Inside, the work, done by a host of artists was of a high quality but a lot of the artist’s work seemed stunted, lacking his charm or flare. The most interesting piece of the exhibition was this piece by Vhils, formed through a combination of paint and chisels to chip away into an image; it showed skilful innovation where many others failed to inspire.