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If Britain’s itinerant rogue artist Banksy were to “do” Disneyland, what would it look like? Perhaps a little something like Dismaland, a “funfair”-slash-popup exhibition under construction in the U.K. town of Western-Super-Mare, which the artist is reportedly involved with.
The original Disneyland Cinderella Castle at Anaheim, California | Photo: Solar Surfer via Wikimedia Commons
The Daily Beast says it’s due to open Friday.
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First aerial pics of Banksy working on his Dismaland at Weston Tropicana here http://t.co/lBu38YK6MT pic.twitter.com/K5gOgd8iaN
— Western Daily Press (@WesternDaily)
August 19, 2015
The Daily Mail reports it was previously claimed the site — a disused outdoor swimming pool called the Weston Tropicana — was being cordoned off for a film shoot. However, sightings of the itinerant artist’s agent at the site has excited the British press, which has been monitoring the proceedings over the last few days, and most people are now running with the idea it is in fact a Banksy concept.
Richard Jones, who edited a book on the artist, said there were murmurs Banksy would do something in the area in August, according to the BBC. Western Super Mare is close to Bristol, where he did much of his earlier work. Jones says the structures glimpsed so far have "all the hallmarks" of Banksy.
Oops, here's the pic I meant to include on that last Tweet. #Rain #Dismaland pic.twitter.com/URFYFbw9mo
— Francis Clarke (@francisclarke)
August 5, 2013
The Daily Beast reports, “the name ‘Dismaland,’ meanwhile, comes from a Banksy-authored piece of graffiti that’s from as far back as 2012, which may indicate that this project has been in the works for quite some time.” The same article says in 2006 the artist “trolled” Disney by putting a life-sized inflatable doll dressed as a Guantanamo Bay detainee in the Big Thunder Mountain Railroad ride at Disneyland to raise awareness of the torture prison.
Photo: Reuters
As well as the Disneyland-like wreck of a castle, a distorted truck and a giant windmill have been sighted above the walls.
Photo: Reuters
Britain has a long history of funfairs and theme parks along its 31,368 kilometers of coastline, but they have been in decline since their heyday, largely due to many people preferring to holiday abroad thanks to the plunging price of European flights and warmer climes.
Many coastal cities have become dilapidated and shabby, but Dismaland, along with the recently opened Dreamworld in Margate — an artistic revival spearheaded by Wayne Hemmingway — coupled with the harsh austerity that has seen many in the U.K. tightening their purse strings, could indicate a revival for the British seaside may be underway.
This could hugely benefit the local economy in the west of England; The Week reports Banksy's 2009 exhibition in nearby Bristol attracted more than 300,000 visitors over 12 weeks and generated approximately 10 million pounds (US$15 million) for the local economy.
