The 'swept up' road

At wow! we are all encouraged to take the time out, when we can, to have a Creative Day. The general idea is to take ourselves off for the day and get involved in something that gets our creative juices flowing. It could be an art gallery, show, seminar, anything really. The Banksy exhibition at Bristol had caught my eye, so I booked the day off and off I went!….

I had prepared quite well for my first Creative Day, or so I thought. Armed with my Google map directions and a brolley (the weather was not looking good!) I set off on my journey to Bristol. ‘The exhibition doesn’t start until 10am, so no need to rush’ I told myself. Oh how wrong I was! I arrived shortly after 10 o’clock, strolled around the corner and was greeted with an Alton Towers style queue. There’s no doubt that Banksy is a very influential artist of today, but I really hadn’t considered how popular this ‘unknown’ man is.

Once I had joined the queue, and got over the shock of seeing a sign that said ‘2 and a half hour wait from this point’, it came to light that it wasn’t just your average creative / arty type person who had come to see this exhibition, there were all sorts. From kids to OAP’s and everything in between, that in itself was quite amazing to see…..

So, 2 and a half hours later (it would appear the sign was correct) I finally entered this unprecedented exhibition.

A large room filled with so much varied art, it’s hard to know where to start. Your eye wants to look at, and inspect, everything. Most artists have a certain and defined style, and while Banksy is probably best known for his graffiti style art, it became apparent very quickly that he is extremely capable of turning his hand to many different disciplines. From beautifully painted canvasses to an installation of a brick road that had been ’swept up’, there was certainly variety.

I found some of the pieces communicated a very clear message to me, and he has a way of being almost sarcastic at times. The huge canvass of the House of Commons filled with Chimpanzees, rather that politicians, says it all really! Other things were not so obvious. The installation of moving ‘hot dogs’ being kept as pets in fish tanks certainly caught your eye, but I didn’t exactly get the hidden message within. Maybe there wasn’t one.

As you wondered around the Museum you inevitably found yourself in other exhibits, and then every so often something would catch your eye and you’d know that he’d been there too. From a graffiti covered hunting sign with the stuffed animals, to a rather ‘interesting’ addition to the stalagmites exhibit, he’d made his mark.

There was a lot to see and a lot to take in, and I’m glad that I did queue all that time to see his work. It certainly was a creative day, so thanks Banksy, whoever you are!