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Banksy's new collaborative exhibit, Dismaland, a fake theme park in England, has come to a surprisingly practical conclusion: The park will be dismantled and shipped to Calais, to serve as temporary housing for refugees.
So now's as good a time as any to see what Dismaland was like.
Banksy is the world-renowned British street artist (or, at this point, just plain artist) who's managed to become one of the art world's most famous names while remaining pseudonymous. He first came to the public eye through innovative graffiti, and gradually has expanded to include sculpture, other types of found art, and the 2010 documentary Exit Through the Gift Shop. But Dismaland was probably his largest project yet.
Described by the artist's website as "a festival of art, amusements, and entry-level anarchism," the so-called "bemusement park" was located in the British seaside town of Weston-super-Mare. Though the exhibition was definitely a Banksy production, it included work by other famous names like the cow-in-formaldehyde artist Damien Hirst, Jenny Holzer, and Jimmy Cauty, among others.
The attractions included highlights like an art display and model village, with flavor that mixed the aesthetics of Disneyland, small-town carnivals, and the most talented cynic in your senior semiotics seminar:
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If you didn't make it before the exhibit ended on September 27, you can at least peek inside via Instagrams, Vines, and other social media previews that trickled in from the park.
As part of the art, there was a massive squad of scowling workers who would help guide you through the exhibits.
There was bench sitting:
A depressing panorama:
A portrait artist who only drew the back of your head:
Some messing with Disney iconography:
Fairy-tale paparazzi:
And much more, including, of course, a water show:
Even the Grim Reaper had fun:
