An underground train station in Milan was entirely decked out in stencils on Sunday morning — in the form of fake Banksy street paintings.
Hundreds of thousands of visitors turned out for the exhibition entitled “Banksy’s Never Enough,” which recreated images from the walls of “The Dismaland” — the fake Banksy exhibition that the elusive graffiti artist staged in Weston-super-Mare, England, last year.
Painted by more than 800 artists around the world, the fake paintings depict the roadside of the fake Banksy exhibition and painted on different parts of the train station.
The exhibition, for which tickets cost $24, was the most expensive train station experience in Europe. The 9,000-square-meter space at the Milan station featured two long staircases that took visitors to six different cityscapes of London, New York, Bangkok, Moscow and Milan.
Organizers sent messages to Banksy to demand his cooperation. In response, it was revealed that the exhibition was a “secret” created by a marketing agency, but nobody dared to say anything for several months due to Banksy’s security measures.
According to AFP, Banksy’s interest in the project couldn’t be higher. He released a video to his more than 18 million followers showing off the exhibition’s stage: the train station’s ticket office, glass halls, elevator and escalator. “A shame they didn’t show me the exit,” he said.
On Sunday morning, fans from more than 100 countries traveled to the Milan station in groups to walk through the exhibit. A similar exhibition was staged in London in February, the BBC reported.
The exhibition started out on the “Berlin Wall” in London and then made its way to Berlin, Madrid, Tokyo, Montreal, Paris, Lisbon, Copenhagen, Amsterdam, and Frankfurt. Along the way, it received a high-profile celebrity in Andy Warhol, who was photographed at some of the art exhibitions in that city.
“Never Enough” worked under the theory that during art exhibitions that feature some pieces by Banksy, others can benefit the artist. Banksy later rewarded people who received passes to the exhibition with the chance to win a photo session with him.