Banksy's Self-Shredded Painting Is Now a New Piece Called Love Is in the Bin

Evelyn Wang
Updated

It turns out Sotheby's was actually Banksy'd twice. Last week, the anonymous street artist made headlines after his piece, Girl with Balloon destroyed itself via shredder shortly after selling for $1.4 million. But that was just the first instance of Banksy'ing. The second, Sotheby's and Banksy revealed on Thursday, was that a new work had been created mere "seconds" after it passed through the shredder.

The new work is now called Love Is in the Bin. According to a Sotheby's announcement published Thursday, it has a certificate from the artist's "authentication body," Pest Control.

The buyer—whom Sotheby's described as a "female European collector and a long-standing client of Sotheby's"—also had a happy ending: She is now the proud owner of Love is in the Bin.

"When the hammer came down last week and the work was shredded, I was at first shocked, but gradually I began to realize that I would end up with my own piece of art history," she said, according to Sotheby's.

<h1 class="title">Banksy’s ‘Self-Destructed’ Painting Is Reborn As a New Work 2</h1><cite class="credit">Tristan Fewings/Getty Images</cite>

Banksy’s ‘Self-Destructed’ Painting Is Reborn As a New Work 2

Tristan Fewings/Getty Images
<h1 class="title">Banksy’s ‘Self-Destructed’ Painting Is Reborn As a New Work 3</h1><cite class="credit">ADRIAN DENNIS/Getty Images</cite>

Banksy’s ‘Self-Destructed’ Painting Is Reborn As a New Work 3

ADRIAN DENNIS/Getty Images

Despite rumors otherwise, Banksy's former gallerist Steve Lazarides says this was all Banksy, and not a collaboration with Sotheby's. “I worked for him for 12 years; the idea of him colluding with an institution to pull off a stunt is the complete antithesis to his philosophy," he said, according to Sotheby's.

Meanwhile, Sotheby's "observed" that Banksy's act is part of a rich tradition of artists destroying their work.

“Rauschenberg erased de Kooning’s drawing; Gustav Metzger and Jean Tinguely pioneered auto-destructive art; Michael Landy shredded all his possessions; and what about Banksy himself and his corrupted oils?" said Sotheby's Alex Branczik.

Banksy's only comment was a video, on Instagram, that shows the shredder being built in secret four years ago, as well as the actual moment of shredding. In it, the crowd's cheers and applause turn to gasps and yelps of shock as they watch in dismay. Banksy captioned it with a Picasso quote that read, "The urge to destroy is also a creative urge."

On Friday, Rolling Stone announced that four more Banksy pieces would go on auction in November.