Banksy's 'Devolved Parliament' full of chimpanzees sells for £9.8 mn

The anonymous street painter Banksy’s artwork of a Devolved Parliament depicting the members as Chimpanzees has been sold at the auction, on October 4, for over £9.8 million. The bidding battle for the monumental painting, which was created in 2009, lasted for almost 13 minutes. The auction was held at Sotheby’s in London where Banksy’s “Girl With Balloon” work was sold last year before it got partially shredded.

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Banksy shares his opinion

“Record price for a Banksy painting set at auction tonight. Shame I didn’t still own it,” wrote Banksy in an Instagram post. He quoted art critic Robert Hughes apparently questioning the record-breaking price of his artwork. “...But the price of a work of art is now part of its function, it’s new job is to sit on the wall and get more expensive,” the post read. “Instead of being the common property of humankind the way a book is, art becomes the particular property of someone who can afford it,” it added.

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Nominated for Oscars

Banksy, known for his satirical street art combined with dark humour, uses graffiti to display his work at publicly visible places. He also made a documentary film ‘Exit Through the Gift Shop’ which got nominated for Academy Award for Best Documentary film in 2011. “This is a big surprise... I don't agree with the concept of award ceremonies, but I'm prepared to make an exception for the ones I'm nominated for,” Banksy had said after the nomination. “The last time there was a naked man covered in gold paint in my house, it was me,” he added.

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Banksy on Brexit

Recently, Banksy had created a Brexit mural on the side of a building where a star was being chipped away from the European Union’s flag. The painting symbolized the impending exit of Britain from the EU. In August, the mural got covered with white paint but it remained unknown what happened to the Mural.

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