Born in Bristol, England, Banksy gained notoriety in London and throughout the world with his anti-war, anti-capitalist, anti-establishment, and pro-freedom stencil art. His “guerilla art” has appeared in most major cities around the world and has earned him underground fame and a place in contemporary pop-culture.

His confirmed stunts have been seen in such museums as the Tate Britain gallery, New York Museum of Modern Art, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art. In August 2005, Banksy painted nine images on the Palestinian side of the Israeli West Bank barrier, including an image of a ladder going up and over the wall and children digging a hole through the wall. Most recently, he planted a life-size replica of a Guatanamo Bay prisoner (complete with hood) in a ride at Disneyland.

Shown here are images from Banksy’s recent show, Barely Legal (Sep 15-17, 2006), at a vandalized warehouse in Los Angeles. The use of a live elephant in the show will surely incite debate.

Update: While combing through our photo archives, we found dozens of pictures from this exhibition and chose a few more to add here. Visit our Photo Blog section to see other exhibition photos, event wrap-ups, and more.

Barely Legal

Hunter St, Los Angeles

September 15-17, 2006