Dismaland: The ignorance of our realities
Banksy’s Dismaland was the topic of the summer - understandably. The British love his dark and satirical comments on austerity communicated through his art, and his name is famous globally.
Banksy’s art has always been shaped around protest, and this was embedded throughout his whole exhibition. The mixture of insight, creative humour intertwined with dashes of sarcasm really made a fantastic argument for anti consumerism.
Protest is taking different forms as time progresses. You hear people say ‘I used to go on marches, walk the street with signs and shout’, but these forms of protest are outdated. I believe those sort of campaigns fail to make as much noise as they used to. Protests now exist through sharing, retweeting, statuses, online campaigns - a platform where the potential to generate an audience is much greater. Cecil the Lion stormed global headlines and started millions of conversations.
I almost expected activists and people who had controversial views to voice waiting at the gates when I arrived. Instead we were greeted with normality. Families, children, people wanting to have a day out and endorse within ‘Dismaland’ - hoodie wearers, brochures, and guides. Ironic in cohesion with Banksy’s anti-consumer beliefs. The gift shop was more packed than the bar.
Protest is changing, and in doing so becoming more and more creative. Banksy let the mind run free, although it was very easy to decipher what he was trying to say. His aversion towards David Cameron, the Conservative Party and Capitalism was always known to encompass Banksy’s character and etched throughout the whole exhibition, including the man himself sipping wine with a smug grin whilst the working man attempted to tear that apart, the simple anagram of RBS bank, or a baby circling in a vending machine with Coca Cola, Sony, Nike, Swarovski etched into it’s bare skin.
“To express a strong objection to (something)” is the official definition of ‘protest’. The word ‘strong’ stuck out to me. A protest by meaning must be strong, loud, powerful. Incorrect.
Dismaland from the beginning was limited, tickets were furiously difficult to get by, queues were rife, located in a small seaside town in the south of England. It was almost as if every aspect in the universe was against the public going to visit. The media hype was loud, the promotion was strong, but none of that was the protest. Banksy’s protest spoke no words.
Whilst standing in one of numerous queues I noticed a girl around 4, transfixed into her personal iPad. Chuckled to myself at the ultimate irony that was taking place in front of my eyes. Brand, Consumer, Children, Materialism, Banksy. You get the idea.
I cherish the days of old where I could watch a Disney film without feeling morbidly angry. I found myself uncomfortable with children carrying ‘I’m an Imbecile’ balloons and taking out money loans to go on rides. Should children be facing the harsh realities of life age 5? Is there no art in the illusion?
During my whole day, the art didn’t shock me, the controversy didn’t shock me. What really hit home was embedded consumerism, capital gain within adults and children alike visiting. Against the backdrop of all that truth the reality of our own lives seemed appalling. It is so normal to buy balloons at a fair, it is so normal to exchange money for tokens to go on rides, but against Banksy’s backdrop of labelled ‘Imbecile’, exploiting children, riding carousels surrounded by dead horses labelled Lasagne, and dead Cinderella swarmed by people taking photos -
