It’s Disneyland, wrapped in a nightmare.
On Thursday, images and video captured inside “Dismaland,” Banksy’s new art exhibition/dystopian amusement park, began making the rounds on social media. They offer a glimpse into a world that’s predictably dark, bizarre and full of satire.
There’s a statue of Little Mermaid, looking oddly distorted, and a sculpture of Cinderella’s carriage overturned in an accident. The Grim Reaper can be spotted riding in a bumper car, and a killer whale is seen jumping out of a toilet bowl, among other installments.
In an interview with the BBC, Banksy described the so-called “bemusement park” -- which also features work from Damien Hirst, Jenny Holzer, Jimmy Cauty and other artists -- as a “family theme park unsuitable for children.”
He added that the show, his biggest to date, will require plenty of “audience participation.”
“A dead princess is only complete when surrounded by gawping crowds with their cameras out, or the opportunity to photograph yourself pulling an amazed expression when a killer whale leaps from a toilet,” the enigmatic artist said.
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Dismaland will be open to the public from August 22 to September 27 in Weston-super-Mare, a seaside town in Somerset, England.
The show is taking place on the site of a former leisure park called Tropicana. The now-derelict building and grounds on the Tropicana site have been closed for 15 years, reports the BBC.
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