Art prankster Banksy has struck again.
A work by the elusive street artist apparently self-destructed in front of startled auction-goers on Friday, moments after being sold for 1.04 million pounds ($1.4 million).
The spray-painted canvas 鈥淕irl With Balloon鈥� went under the hammer at Sotheby鈥檚 in London, fetching more than three times its pre-sale estimate and equaling a record price for the artist.
Then, as an alarm sounded, it ran through a shredder embedded in the frame, emerging from the bottom in strips.
A post on Banksy鈥檚 official Instagram account showed the moment 鈥� and the shocked reaction of those in the room 鈥� with the words 鈥淕oing, going, gone鈥︹��
Sotheby鈥檚 鈥� which had noted before the sale that the work鈥檚 ornate gilded frame was 鈥渁n integral element of the artwork chosen by Banksy himself鈥� 鈥� expressed surprise at the incident.
鈥淚t appears we just got Banksy-ed,鈥� said Alex Branczik, head of contemporary European art at the auction house.
The auction house said it was 鈥渋n discussion about next steps鈥� with the buyer. Some art-market watchers have suggested the work could be worth even more in its shredded state.
鈥淲e have not experienced this situation in the past . where a painting spontaneously shredded, upon achieving a record for the artist,鈥� Branczik said. 鈥淲e are busily figuring out what this means in an auction context.鈥�
Banksy is not the first artist to deconstruct his own work. In the years after World War II, German-born artist Gustav Metzger pioneered 鈥渁uto-destructive art,鈥� creating paintings using acid that ate away the fabric beneath.
Banksy, who has never disclosed his full identity, began his career spray-painting buildings in Bristol, England, and has become one of the world鈥檚 best-known artists. His mischievous and often satirical images include two policemen kissing, armed riot police with yellow smiley faces and a chimpanzee with a sign bearing the words 鈥淟augh now, but one day I鈥檒l be in charge.鈥�
He also has a penchant for elaborate pranks.
In 2005, he hung an image of a spear-toting ancient human pushing a shopping cart in the British Museum, where it remained for several days before being discovered. The next year he smuggled a life-sized figure of a Guantanamo Bay detainee into Disneyland, and in 2015 he erected a full-scale dystopian theme park 鈥� 鈥淒ismaland鈥� 鈥� by the British seaside.
鈥淕irl With Balloon,鈥� which depicts a small child reaching up toward a heart-shaped red balloon, was originally stenciled on a wall in east London and has been endlessly reproduced, becoming one of Banksy鈥檚 best-known images.
Jill Lawless, The Associated Press
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