Friday Funny: Banksy Spoofs Consumerism with 'Dismaland' Theme Park

Trending in a big way this week: news that the widely celebrated street artist provocateur named Banksy has created a large theme park called 'Dismaland' in Weston-super-Mare, a seaside town in Somerset, England. The park is billed as "The UK's most disappointing new visitor attraction!" and a "family theme park unsuitable for children."

Included in the new park are works by 58 artists, including Damien Hirst and Jenny Holzer. A sample of the park's offerings include:

• A staff of ennui-beset hipsters, posing as theme park staff.
• Large sculptural pieces including Ariel from The Little Mermaid distorted as if the signal is going out and Cinderella's carriage overturned at the scene of a collision and surrounded by paparazzi.
• A pond where visitors can guide remote control boats between larger sculptures of boats bearing refugees packed in like sardines.

No word on whether beer is only available in "Californication Adventure."

How'd it all happen is one good question of interest to Planetizen readers. According to Mark Brown, "[t]he artist’s biggest project to date had been shrouded in secrecy. Local residents and curious tourists were led to believe that the installations being built in a disused former lido called Tropicana were part of a film set for a Hollywood crime thriller called Grey Fox."

Brown adds: "Only four people at the local council knew about the project, one of those its Tory leader, Nigel Ashton. 'There was no need for people to know,' he said, although clearly someone had to say yes. 'I gave it a lot of deep thought ... for about two and a half seconds. For a second I thought, 'who is behind the wind up?' because you don’t get that lucky. But how do you say no?"

If you're desperate for more coverage of Dismaland, a lot more links to articles covering the new theme park follow.