Banksy crashes the Venice Biennale with unauthorised street stall; posts video on social media

British street artist Banksy set up an unauthorised stall outside the Venice Biennale titled Venice in Oil, posting a documentation video on his Instagram account on Wednesday. The caption for the post reads: “Setting out my stall at the Venice Biennale. Despite being the largest and most prestigious art event in the world, for some reason I’ve never been invited.”

  In the minute-long video, a man concealed by sunglasses, hat and a scarf, is seen setting up his stall alongside the street vendors at Venice’s Piazza San Marco. The stall is a collection of nine gilded frames containing oil paintings. Collaged together, the multi-panel oil painting depicts a cruise ship disrupting Venice’s quiet life. The cruiser dims everything, including Venice’s iconic Bridge of Sighs and the St Marks Basilica tower. A small cardboard announces the piece’s title, Venice in Oil. The video also shows bystanders looking at the piece while the man sits next to it holding a newspaper in front of him. The police then arrive, and the man is seen packing up and leaving. The video ends with a blurred shot of the same cruise ship on the waters of the Grand Canal, as depicted in the artwork. Banksy is known for the bold statements his artworks make, consistently challenging social and political structures. Venice in Oil seems a poignant critique of the commercialisation and elitism of the Venice Biennale, considered the world’s largest and most prestigious art show.