The buyer of the iconic Banksy painting that shredded itself only moments after selling for $1.1 million, has confirmed that she will go through with the sale.
A print of the iconic “Girl with Balloon” painting from 2006 went up for auction at Sotheby’s in London last Friday, but within moments of the record-breaking bid being announced at around 9 PM, an alarm was immediately triggered within the frame, before the painting was shredded into ribbons that hung from the bottom.
In the aftermath of the incident, the artist shared a now-deleted behind-the-scenes video revealing how he installed a shredder into a picture frame. Sotheby’s were also forced to deny their involvement, however, it’s now been confirmed that the buyer is a female European collector, who still intends to go through with the sale.
The new-look work has also been given a new title, Love Is In The Bin, and granted a certificate of authenticity by Pest Control, Banksy’s authentication team.
The anonymous woman said, “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.”
Sotheby’s Alex Branczik added, “Banksy didn’t destroy an artwork in the auction, he created one.”
