In another artwork, Banksy has used the shopping trolley as a symbol for destructive and wasteful capitalism: Show Me the Monet features two discarded shopping trolleys thrown into Claude Monet’s famous waterlily pond at Giverny.
Though Banksy has faithfully captured the impressionist style of the original masterpiece, the jarring addition of two upturned shopping trolleys reflects how damaging consumer culture can be to the beautiful natural world.
This mock cave Painting by Banksy went unnoticed in the British Museum for 3 days.
In 2005, the British Museum in London discovered a mock-cave painting of a man pushing a trolley among their exhibits, complete with a fake title plaque and ID number. The piece was created using black marker pen on stone, and went unnoticed for 3 days, only being discovered after the prank was announced by Banksy via Twitter.
Thirteen years later, Banksy’s cave painting was entered into the British Museum’s exhibition on the global history of dissent and protest
Shop Till You Drop
One of Banksy's most famous social comments was his artwork, Shop Till You Drop, painted in November 2011 on the side of an office building on Bruton Lane in London's West End. It is also known as the “Falling Shopper” and depicts a woman falling from the top of a building, clutching a shopping trolley containing a few items. His aim was to point out the perils of consumerism.
Using scaffolding and a tarpaulin to make sure he wasn't caught in the act; he painted the graffiti in daylight. It was painted more than two storeys up and the tarpaulin made it appear that renovation work was taking place on the office block.
Scaffolding was set up at some point on Saturday 19th November by two men who looked like construction workers. Once the scaffolding was erected, tarpaulins were draped over it. At around 3pm on Sunday 20th November, the workers went back and began taking the scaffolding down.
By 5pm that day, all of the scaffolding had been removed and passers-by realised Banksy had stopped by and created his latest graffiti, which was quickly dubbed, Shop Till You Drop.
Art critics believe the woman is depicted as contributing to the big corporations, but the shopping cart is pulling her down, making it a controlling authority. Shop Till You Drop is still visible today, although it has become quite damaged over the years.
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