Banksy has officially gone into business with a storefront he calls Gross Domestic Product that is filled with branded merchandise. This is the first time that Banksy’s items are for sale. Products for sale include old and new works by the artist, which include the iconic stab vest worn by the grime artist Stormzy at Glastonbury last year.
Banksy’s store stocks items such as a rug made from the skin of Tony the Tiger, who has died of diabetes after eating too much Frosted Flakes cereal. Knowing that this make visitors a bit uncomfortable, Banksy’s explains that “the floor covering makes quite the conversation piece—especially if the conversation centres around the UK spending over £7.8 million a year on tooth extractions for the under 5s.”
The unveiling of Gross Domestic Product coincides with another of Banksy’s pieces selling for an unprecedentedly high price at auction. Recently, “Devolved Parliament” (2009), which depicts the British Parliament filled with chimpanzees, sold at Sotheby’s for $12 million. His previous auction record was $1.9 million.
