BANKSY EXHIBITIONS AND PRANKS // BARELY LEGAL LOS ANGELES, OCTOBER 2006

Barely Legal was Banksy’s third major exhibition, staged over one weekend in a Los Angeles warehouse in September 2006. Promoted as a “three-day vandalised warehouse extravaganza,” the show became one of the artist’s most talked-about projects. Its central attraction was the literal “elephant in the room,” a live animal painted in a pink and gold floral wallpaper pattern, intended to highlight global poverty. Banksy also developed his “modified oils” series further, following the line of inquiry begun in his earlier Crude Oils exhibition. Much like Turf War, the exact location was kept secret until the morning of the opening, yet the event drew leading artists, curators, critics, collectors, celebrities, and other cultural figures.

 

In preparation for the show, Banksy collaborated with Los Angeles printmaker Richard Duardo of Modern Multiples. At Banksy’s request, Duardo and his team produced the now-iconic Barely Legal Print Set, a group of six works printed in editions of 100 each, with a small number of printer’s proofs signed and embossed with the Pictures on Walls insignia. Completed in the days leading up to the exhibition, these prints have since become highly sought-after in the secondary market, underscoring the significance of Barely Legal as both an artistic and cultural landmark in Banksy’s career.