Half-shredded Banksy artwork back up for auction for up to SIX TIMES previous price

A painting by Bristol-based street artist Banksy which started shredding itself immediately after being sold for £1.1 million ($1.52 million) in 2018 is going back under the hammer and expected to reach multiples of that price.

The artwork, originally known as the ‘Girl With Balloon’ but now retitled ‘Love Is In The Bin’, is set to be auctioned off at Sotheby’s in London, with valuers expecting it to secure between £4 million ($5.55 million) and £6 million ($8.32 million).

The canvas partially “self-destructed,” according to the artist, just moments after it was sold in October 2018. As stunned art collectors and fans looked on, the work suddenly descended through a shredder that had been secretly concealed in the base of its large frame, leaving half of the painting hanging out the bottom in slices. 

‘Girl With Balloon’, depicting a young child holding a red balloon, originally appeared on a wall in east London but has since become one of the street artist’s most well-known pieces and has been reproduced repeatedly. Prior to its sale in 2018, the artwork had been voted the nation’s favorite, beating out the iconic ‘Angel Of The North’ sculpture and JMW Turner’s maritime oil painting, ‘The Fighting Temeraire’. 

The auction is scheduled to take place in London on October 14, with Sotheby’s describing the work as a “unique” item produced by Banksy, with his signature on the back of it proving its authenticity.

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