Street artist (and often times prankster) Banksy, famously rigged a stencil of his to shred itself in case it was ever resold.  And it did just that directly after being auctioned off in London in 2018.  You can watch a video of the auction, once the gavel came down and the Banksy piece was sold for $1.4 Million dollars, a paper shredder hidden in the frame of the painting was remotely activated and began shredding it.

Banksy Shreds his own work:

Hilarious, but not without its due irony.  Because the painting was shredded at the Sotheby’s auction to the horror of its billionaire crowd,  the painting instantly became more valuable.  It was now a sensation, a global headline, and a piece of art history.   At the time (2018) many estimated the painting would double in value because it was the first self-destructing painting in history.  Boy were they wrong.

Follow Banksy on instagram to see what he’s up, it’s hella entertaining. @banksy

The shredded ‘Girl With Balloon’ painting, now affectionately dubbed, ‘Love is in the Bin’ by Banksy himself, sold this month for $25.4 Million.  The anonymous European owner of the painting made 18 times what she paid for it three years ago.  Banksy of course made nothing from the resale.

Sotheby’s employees view Love is in the Bin by British artist Banksy during a media preview at Sotheby’s auction house on October 12, 2018 in London, United Kingdom.(Photo by Jack Taylor/Getty Images)

Proof that there will never be a shortage of assholes seeking to profit from Banksy’s art, without his permission.  There is an actual touring exhibit of some 60 of Banksy pieces coming to San Francisco.  The exhibit is not sanctioned by Banksy, and you can see all of the pieces they’ve got online, for free.

They are mostly stencils people, you don’t need to see them in a frame, or well-lit gallery to accurately see the ‘texture’.

More importantly, fuck that exhibit, don’t encourage the pericytes by giving them your money.  Just follow @Banksy instead.