Banksy Strikes Twice In Glasgow

Banksy strikes Glasgow curry house an unprecedented second time – could this provide a clue to his true identity?

Last year, Glasgow’s Nakodar Grill insured a Banksy rat sprayed on their restaurant for an incredible £20,000. Now, the curry house believes it has once again become the site for a new artwork by the world’s most famous graffiti artist.

This new artwork has all the Banksy hallmarks, and appears to be part of a well-known series in which the street artist depicts the Mona Lisa with a rocket launcher. The restaurant now plans to provide the work with a protective frame, to ensure that does not incur weather damage or is vandalised.

The restaurant is wise to take such steps, since all indications suggest that it is an authentic Banksy. In the words of Banksy expert Marcus Macleod of Braewell Galleries, ‘We are in the process of trying to verify it’, but ‘it looks like the real thing’. As to its potential value, he added that, while ‘It is hard to put a value on it because it is on a wall after all’, ‘I am fairly certain it is a Banksy and it could be worth five figures.’

alt: 9.4pt; vertical-align: baseline;”> 

The restaurant owner Johnnie Ginda, 39, believes that the second Banksy appeared on the curry house’s shortly after the first image of a rat had been mentioned on BBC Radio Scotland’s ‘Off The Ball’ programme: ‘Soon afterwards another great piece of art – bearing all the hallmarks of Banksy – had appeared above the previous one’ she explained.

 

This double strike in one location by Banksy is unprecedented.  Marcus Macleod said: ‘it is interesting and I don’t know what it is about this wall that has caught the artist’s eye – other than he may love curry and listens to On the Ball’. But the restaurant is, of course, ecstatic:  ‘To have one Banksy is fantastic – but two is incredible’, Ginda exclaimed. And, even more exciting for the art viewing public, it may provide a lead to his true identity, as it suggests ‘He may have been a customer here’.

 

For Ginda, ‘it is an early Christmas present’: ‘His first work has drawn hundreds of customers here to have a look – and already we’ve had many more come for the new painting. I always said our restaurant was a work of art – now it really is. We are becoming a gallery! [but] Why he should choose our place is a mystery.’

 

Banksy Not Nominated For Turnip Prize 2011

Pepper Spray Meme Artist Influenced By Banksy

Banksy Artwork Lost in graffiti War

Banksy Occupy London Sculpture Vandalised

 

Follow ArtLyst on Twitter for breaking art news and latest exhibition reviews

 

Tags

, , ,