Banksy does a performance with display in St. Mark's Square in Venice, but gets kicked out by traffic cops

That Banksy was in Venice during the preview days of the fifty-eighth Biennale is common knowledge: a mural was even found on the facade of a building near San Pantalon bridge, in one of the busiest areas of the city. What no one knew until last night, however, is that the British street artist whose identity is unknown held a performance of sorts on the streets of Venice: he posted a video on his Instagram account last night to offer testimony to his audience.

“Although the Biennale is the biggest and most prestigious art event in the world,” the artist wryly commented, “for some reason I was never invited.” The video shows preparations for his “booth” in St. Mark’s Square, a banquet displaying framed paintings that, like a mosaic, compose the image of a huge cruise ship looming over the fragile lagoon capital. In the video, a man appears next to the banquet, cloaked in a heavy coat and harnessed with a scarf and hat that conceal his face (although in reality at least two different people appear throughout the video, judging by the appearance of the hands), and toward the end we witness the intervention of traffic police who order the artist to leave the square, as he lacks permission to exhibit. The last frames show us the man walking along the shores of Venice, dragging his banquet, while in the background a Costa Crociere ship plies the waters of St. Mark’s basin.

Pictured: a moment from Banksy’s performance-exhibition in Venice.

Banksy does a performance with display in St. Mark's Square in Venice, but gets kicked out by traffic cops

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