A work by the elusive street artist has self-destructed in front of startled auction-goers on Friday, moments after being sold for 1.9 million NZD. Source - @bansky
Banky's latest stunt saw his famous art piece being shredded after it was sold at auction, however one man believes the artwork was not destroyed at all.
Josh Gilbert, an artist, blacksmith and magician from Chicago has cast doubt on the situation.
Gilbert has explained his theory to Bored Panda,revealing how the whole thing was a fake publicity stunt.
People shocked after Banky's painting started shredded after an auction. Photo / Instagram
He has talked in detail how he believed the painting didn't self destruct.
"What piqued my interest was really the appearance of the device in his video. I'm a maker, so the way it was presented as being constructed struck a sour note with me," he told Bored Panda.
"I re-watched it several times, and looked at stills, and it just didn't make sense as a machine designed to shred a painting.
"I'm also a magician, and when I started looking at it as a performance rather than a documentation, that's when it really clicked."
He outlined his theory on Reddit, where he wrote: "I felt like this Banksy situation didn't add up in some ways no one was talking about and so I made a post about it. I watched this video a bunch of times and some parts of it really seem sketchy and nonsensical."
Gilbert claimed that the x-acto blades, seen in video from Banksy, that were most likely there for the shredding were actually mounted sideways onto the frame.
The x-acto blades, seen in video from Banksy, that were most likely there for the shredding were actually mounted sideways onto the frame. Photo / Instagram
"You can see that there is NO WAY these blades would cut canvas or even thick paper mounted that way," he says.
The mechanics of the "shredding-frame" also left Gilbert confused.
Behind the Banksy frame. Photo / Instagram
"I'm pointing this out because it raises a bunch of questions for me. What is hidden in that huge box part at the bottom of the painting? Why would you use X-acto knives instead of a commercially available shredder? Why make something as well thought out as what is visible in the rest of the insides of the frame and then add a s****y row of blades facing the wrong way and connected to nothing? This REEKS of misdirection."
After seeing this video on Imgur, Gilbert was convinced that it's a magic trick.
"It's not a shredder AT ALL. This is a CLASSIC magician's trick and an excellent way to drum up publicity without actually endangering the art. Not to mention, that it gives plausible deniability to everyone. They can honestly say 'We had no idea it was going to be destroyed!' because they knew it wasn't going to be ..."
