Nasty & Shabby

Idle hands make for the devil’s play. Something like that lead my curiosity get the better of me this Saturday as I put aside my qualms about a near $40 entry fee and went to see the Art of Banksy exhibition at Auckland’s Aotea Centre. There’s a fair bit of hype around this $40m worth of Banksy touring to New Zealand and particular of attention drawn to the curator of the exhibition and former business partner, Steve Lazarides, not being on good terms with the artist.

The Mayor of Auckland praised the exhibition as a ‘huge win’ for the city yet Don Rowe at the Spinoff said pretty much all that can be said of this exhibition. It’s a pitiful experience, all the more remarkable for its size and the number of ‘hits’ included within and no exaggeration to say the inevitable gift shop climax to the exhibition was delivered with more care. I’ve never seen such a shabbily produced exhibition and the entry fee of $37.50 renders the whole effort shameful. It’s a remarkable thing for Auckland to be proud of given the stresses currently affecting its much more capable exhibition makers.