The “Bemusement Park” as it has been called on the website, is a sinister twist on Walt Disney’s Disneyland and the entire park appears to embrace the darker themes.
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The Bristol-based artist was inspired to create the park after peeking through a gap in the fence at the Tropicana site in January.
The park will only open for five weeks, so there are only five weekends of musical entertainment, but Banksy is making the most of it with some very solid bookings. The pop-up installation takes you inside a dystopian theme park, clearly commenting on the state of theme parks today.
Visit Somerset says the “Banksy effect” will outlast the exhibition and will see millions of pounds flooding into the town over the next six months.
As well as featuring 10 unseen works by Banksy himself, the exhibition will have pieces by over 50 British and worldwide artists, including Damien Hirst, Jenny Holzer and Josh Keyes.
As expected, Dismaland is a parody of the popular Disney theme parks. Locals were told a Hollywood production company was filming a thriller at the site. I banned any imagery of Mickey Mouse from the site.
Leanne Witts, 37, who is on holiday in the resort with husband Lee, 42, and their two children, said: “Somebody asked one of the security guards what is going on and he said: “I don’t know – I’m outside”.
Julie Birchill has rewritten the Punch and Judy show, while a riot control vehicle commissioned to serve on the streets of Northern Ireland lies submerged in a swimming pool.
This is Banksy’s first major show in the UK since his Banksy vs Bristol Museum exhibition in 2009, which saw dozens of works of art put on display and hundreds of thousands of visitors in attendance. “As well as entertaining, it’s also incredibly thought provoking”, he added.
It could also help with efforts to promote Weston-super-Mare as a centre for contemporary urban living, he claimed.
“It was hard not answering the questions about our investment when we opened up the café next door and refurbished the public toilets nearby”, Ashton says.
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“Banksy’s work is always controversial but this has got to be good for the town”.
