Last updated: 17 December 2020 2:23:47 pm
New street artwork called ‘Aachoo !!’ with Banksy on view at Totterdown, Bristol, Great Britain December 11, 2020. (Photo Reuters: Rebecca Naden)
Less than a month after Banksy’s painting entitled ‘Bird with Grenade’ sold at auction in the Netherlands for £ 170,000, graffiti by the famous anonymous street artist based in England has caused a stir.
Situated on the side of a house in Bristol, the work is estimated to have led to a sudden rise in the value of the house. While the appearance of the artwork forced the owners to suspend the sale of their semi-detached home for a while, they have now put the property back on the market.
Here is Banksy’s paint and the estimated value:
The work in question
The work known to the artist as “Aachoo !!” featuring a woman in a sneezing headscarf and her teeth flying into the air. Painted last week on the side of a house on a steep street in Totterdown, Bristol, the work gives the impression that the sneeze is tearing down the adjoining buildings. He was also posted by Banksy on his Instagram account. 📣 Follow Express explained on Telegram
‘Aachoo !!’ with Banksy giving the impression that the sneeze is tearing down the nearby buildings. (Reuters photo: Rebecca Naden)
Sale of the building
The owner of the house, which had already planned to sell the property, suspended it for 48 hours, according to a report after art experts said its price will rise as a result of Banksy’s mural. However, Nick Makin told the BBC it was not true that his mother, Aileen Makin (the owner), had taken the house off the market.
“When you wake up to tabloids claiming that your house is now worth £ 5 million, you have to think about what you are doing… but it does not change anything,” Makin said. He also said the sale was postponed for 48 hours and the family was trying to make sure the artwork was protected.
Who is Banksy?
Regarded as one of the best kept secrets in the art world, there are several stories of Banksy’s identity. A well-known graffiti artist and documentary filmmaker, he first gained attention in the 1990s for his graffiti and iconographies that addressed sociopolitical issues.
Banksy painted house sold in the past
In 2007, owners of a five-bedroom house in Bristol, with a 25-foot-6-foot wall on its walls, tried to sell their house through an art gallery, after discovering that -buyers intending to remove the wall. The wall was expected to sell for over £ 200,000, which was the estimated market price of the house.
Several of his public spaces were also resold, including by the removal of the painted wall. In 2014 “Kissing Coppers”, a Banksy wall mural made from the 2004 Brighton pub wall, sold in the US for £ 350,000. Last month, a 100 kg artwork depicting a gorilla in a pink mask – removed from the Jalalabad Islamic Center in Bristol by an art restoration company – was posted online.
© The Indian Express (P) Ltd.