Mr Brainwash comes out to meet the fans(01 of16)
Open Image ModalMr Brainwash (aka Thierry Guetta) who featured prominently in the controversial and clever 2010 street-art documentary 'Exit Through the Gift Shop', opened his solo show yesterday in the Old Sorting Office in London's West End. Over 2000 fans had queued up literally around the block of the cavernous building for hours to see the show. The first 250 fans received limited-edition prints. Guetta came outside at the 2pm opening of the show to greet the queuing fans.
May the Art Be With You(02 of16)
Open Image ModalThis is the first piece as you enter the exhibit. References to pop culture with a cheeky nod to street art along with a high degree of craftsmanship exemplify this piece and many others in the Brainwash/Banksy repertoire.
Mr & Mrs Batman(03 of16)
Open Image ModalRe-creating stuffy, old-school art with a pop twist is another hallmark of the Brainwash/Banksy style. Note: I didn't catch the title of several of the pieces, so I'm improvising the names.
Portrait of the Queen as a Young Artist(04 of16)
Open Image ModalAn iconic portrait of the young Queen Elizabeth, reimagined with a Peace medallion and patriotic spray paint can.
The Union Jack done in spray paint cans(05 of16)
Open Image ModalGod Save the People(06 of16)
Open Image ModalPortrait of Kate Moss a la Warhol(07 of16)
Open Image ModalWhether this is a sendup of Andy Warhol or a tribute to him is up to you to decide. Mr Brainwash had several pieces like this one in the exhibit.
Souvenir London Taxi(08 of16)
Open Image ModalThis is a full-size old school London taxicab, put in a box as if it's a model car souvenir for a child. The price tag adds an additional air of authenticity.
Vinyl portrait of Jimi Hendrix(09 of16)
Open Image ModalThis piece is done entirely in shards of vinyl records. A rock and roll artist who was broken by rock and roll portrayed in broken bits of rock and roll records is mildly mind-bending.
Giant Boom Box(10 of16)
Open Image ModalThis boom box was over 9 ft high. I can't even fathom how they built it.
The Wall of Subversion(11 of16)
Open Image ModalThis was one of my favorite parts of the exhibit. I called it the Wall of Subversion since it had so many sendups of well-known pieces: Gauguin's self-portrait in Burger King cap with 'Employee of the Month' badge; portrait of Queen Elizabeth I with Elizabeth Hurley's face; Van Gogh wearing Ray Bans; Sir Henry Raeburn's 'The Skating Minister' on skateboard; Grant Wood's 'American Gothic' graffiti artists.
Brainwash giant paint cans(12 of16)
Open Image ModalThere's a fair amount of craftsmanship that goes into making such large, convincing pieces -- especially with a very lifelike resin Colonel Sanders popping out of one of the cans. What it all means I leave to you to decide.
Banksy's Bedroom(13 of16)
Open Image ModalDone as homage/sendup of Van Gogh's 'Bedroom in Arles', the painting samples from Banksy's iconic works and includes a 'portrait' of him wearing the requisite black hoodie. Are Banksy and Guetta one person, or two different ones sharing the same artistic vision? Does it matter? They seem to be having fun with it, and the viewers were, too.
Souvenir London Phone Booth(14 of16)
Open Image ModalWhy bother with replica when you can have full-size?
The Olympic Horses(15 of16)
Open Image ModalThis was one of the several pieces with an Olympics theme. Each horse is wearing one of the five colored rings of the Olympic rings, splattered with paint of the corresponding color and covered in pop images and logos.
Campbell's Angel Spray(16 of16)
Open Image ModalThere's a whole lot of pop art crossover happening here: Warhol-flavored Campbell's soup, which is actually a giant spray can with angel wings. There were many of these giant spray cans at the exhibit, most of them containing 'tomato spray'.