THE artist Banksy, who has turned from street wall art to the creation of a controversial amusement park at Weston-super-Mare, in Somerset, has denied that his Dismaland is an attack on Disneyland.
Responding via email, the artist said that he “does not have an issue with Disney. I’m not a hipster, so I don’t think something is evil or vacuous because it is popular. Some Disney is very good . . . the Let It Go sequence in Frozen is brilliant cinema. The journey between the beginning and end of that three-minute song is pure gold.”
In fact, Banksy, whose documentary film Exit through the Gift Shop was highly praised, argued that his Dismaland branding is not about Disney at all.
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“It’s all just a framework that says we accept that making art puts us in the light entertainment industry and that we’ll attempt to engage at that level,” he said.
“Essentially I modelled the show on those failed Christmas car parks that pop up every December — where they stick some antlers on an alsatian dog and spray fake snow on a skip. I think there’s something very poetic and English about that.”
Banksy has, incognito, followed visitors around Dismaland. “It is fascinating to see that by not ignoring real world issues, people find it emboldening rather than depressing. You should never underestimate what kids are prepared to take on board and respond to,” he said.
The artist also reacted to his critics: “A lot don’t like this kind of art as it does not require their validation or interpretation. It does them out of a job.”