Barely Legal

  • Held over the weekend of September 16, 2006, Barely Legal marked Banksy’s third major exhibition and his high-profile debut in...
    Banksy, Barely Legal exhibition poster, 2006.
    Promotional poster for Banksy’s three-day warehouse show in Los Angeles, California, 15–17 September 2006.
    © Banksy.
    Held over the weekend of September 16, 2006, Barely Legal marked Banksy’s third major exhibition and his high-profile debut in the United States. Staged in a downtown Los Angeles warehouse, the show was billed as a “three-day vandalised warehouse extravaganza” and drew thousands of visitors, including celebrities, collectors, and media from around the world.
     
    The centrepiece, and the most talked-about installation, was a live, full-size elephant painted in pink and gold floral wallpaper pattern. Leaflets at the event revealed the work’s message: to confront the global issue of poverty, the “elephant in the room” that society ignores. The exhibition also expanded on Banksy’s “modified oils” series, begun in his earlier Crude Oils show, in which he reworked found paintings with stencilled interventions. By combining theatrical spectacle with biting social commentary, Barely Legal cemented Banksy’s reputation as one of the most provocative and media-savvy artists of his generation.
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    • Banksy, Barely Legal exhibition elephant, Los Angeles, 2006 – live painted elephant highlighting social inequality and neglect.
      Banksy, Barely Legal Room, 2006. Critique of consumption and the capitalist model, Los Angeles. © Banksy. Photo © Alamy Stock Photo.
    • Banksy, Barely Legal exhibition sculpture, Los Angeles, 2006 – satirical three-dimensional artwork critiquing consumerism and politics.
      Banksy, Barely Legal exhibition, Los Angeles, 16 September 2006. © Banksy. Photo © Giulio Marcocchi, Alamy Stock Photo.
  • An Elephant in the room, 2006
    Held over the weekend of September 16, 2006, Barely Legal was Banksy’s third major exhibition and his breakthrough moment in the United States. Staged in a Los Angeles warehouse and billed as a “three-day vandalised warehouse extravaganza,” it drew global attention for its audacity, theatricality, and headline-grabbing centrepiece.
     
    The main talking point was The Elephant in the Room, a literal live elephant painted in pink and gold floral wallpaper pattern. Positioned in the middle of the warehouse, the work brought to life the metaphor of a problem that everyone knows exists but refuses to address. A leaflet displayed on the wall spelled out the artist’s intent:
     
    "There’s an elephant in the room.
    There’s a problem we never talk about.
    The fact is that life is not getting any fairer.
    1.7 billion people have no access to clean drinking water.
    20 billion people live below the poverty line.
    Every day hundreds of people are made to feel physically sick by morons at art shows telling them how bad the world is but never actually doing something about it.
    Anybody want a free glass of wine?" 

  • THE BARELY LEGAL SET

    • Banksy, Sale Ends Today, 2006 – stencil artwork of crowds worshipping a sale sign, critiquing consumer culture.

      Sale Ends Today, 2006

      © Banksy.
    • Banksy, Morons, 2006–2007 – satirical print mocking the art market with parody of auction scene.

      Morons, 2006 - 2007

      © Banksy.
    • Banksy, Grannies, 2006 – satirical print of elderly women knitting sweaters with subversive slogans.

      Grannies, 2006

      © Banksy.
    • Banksy, Trolleys, 2006 – screenprint of shoppers with empty carts confronting wild animals, critiquing consumerism.

      Trollys, 2006

      © Banksy.
    • Banksy, Applause, 2006 – stencil print of military aircraft with ground crew directing applause, satirising war and spectacle.

      Applause, 2006

      © Banksy.
    • Banksy Girl With Baloon

      SIGNED EDITIONS

    • Banksy Show Me The Monet 2005

      ORIGINAL WORKS

    • Banksy's mural of a rhinoceros on a car

      STREET WORKS