The
British Museum kept on display for three days an obviously fake 'cave art' rock carving before noticing it's blunder. The piece went unnoticed because it was so close in style and form to legitimate pieces that it blended in almost seamlessly.
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The piece was described thusly; "This finely preserved example of primitive art dates from the Post-Catatonic era. Early man venturing towards the out-of-town hunting grounds".
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The placing of this
faux primitive pictograph in the museum was the latest art prank by the well-known graffiti writer '
Banksy' (real name unknown). The piece of fake prehistoric rock art depicted a caveman with a shopping cart (see photo above). A spokesperson for the
British Museum admitted the rock was "in keeping with the other exhibits; the explanatory text was quite similar". She added, they were "seeing the lighter side of it".
The 'cave art' piece is now back in
Banksy's possession and slated for exhibit at his new show,
Outside Institute, which will have opened by the time you see this in print. It will have a sign saying it is "on loan from the
British Museum".
The
British Museum, in keeping with the spirit in which the prank was intended, have stated, "We have loaned the rock to
Banksy but we are still in the process of deciding what to do with it".
Banksy, in addition to 'authoring' many well-known graffiti writings, has hung many bogus art pieces in various famous art galleries in
Europe,
England and
North America. A recent 'addition' to the prestigious
Tate Gallery is shown below.
MIDNITE HOUR has covered some of
Banksy's earlier humorous outings -
click here
to see our
July 2006 Graffiti issue.
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