Banksy vs Paris Hilton (2008)

A rare copy of Banksy's second pressing of his famous Banksy vs Paris Hilton parody album which was quietly placed on music store shelves in 2008 as a stunt to promote Danger Mouse and deceive Hilton fans. A covetous gem for Banksy collectors!

Dimensions: 5 x 5.75 x .5 inches

Medium: Acrylic (CD) and Printed Paper (booklet) encased in plastic CD case

Provenance: "BANKSY001" laser engraved underneath CD on middle ring. Comes with gallery Certificate of Authenticity.

Edition: Limited Edition of 1000

Year: 2008

Condition: 

Booklet: Excellent

CD: Excellent (has very minor scratch on bottom inner rim which does not affect playback - see photos)

Notes: The CD and artwork are in excellent condition, the CD has only been played once to verify authenticity.

ABOUT THE ART

“Banksy vs Paris Hilton” was an artistic endeavour in which Banksy tampered with the musical release of Paris Hilton’s music album by replacing the music and images with his own. In the Banksy copy Heiress Paris Hilton is depicted with a bare chest, and replaced her head for that of a dog’s.

Each page carries an insubordinate comment such as “Every CD you buy puts me even further out of your league” and “Thou shalt not worship false icons”. The music is replaced with a Danger Mouse version. The musician of Gnarls Barkley fame cuts in Hilton’s well used catch phrase “..that’s hot..”.

The music was remixed by Banksy and Danger Mouse, and contains tracks with titles such as “Why Am I Famous?, “What Have I Done?”, and “What Am I For?”.

Banksy visited 42 record stores around the UK, switching the original Paris Hilton CDs with his amended copies, placing them in the original sleeves with the barcode so that they could be purchased.

Banksy’s stunt featured in the national press and as a result, most of the works were removed and destroyed at the time.

There was an initial edition printed of 500 copies that featured a larger sticker on the front of the CD case, followed by a 2nd printing of 1000 which had a smaller sticker printed on the front of the album booklet (this copy).

ARTIST BIO

Banksy (British, born c. 1974/1975) is one of the most well-known, if anonymous, street artists working today. Banksy, the pseudonym adopted by the artist, guards his privacy and the details of his life remain largely unknown to the public. He initially garnered fame for his grafitti, which combines spray paint and stenciling techniques with commercial, political, and contemporary imagery, infused with ironic social commentary and humor. His work first began appearing on walls in and around Bristol and London’s Shoreditch district during the mid-1990s, and he has since gone on to place images on the sides of corporate buildings, billboards, and the Israeli West Bank wall.

The unveiling of a new Banksy works often incorporates pranks or performance. For example, he secretly added his own pieces in museums like the Tate Modern in London or the Paris Louvre, smuggling them in under a coat and discreetly affixing them to a wall. He has also opened gallery shows to the public with specially-bred rats running around the space, and once inserted an inflatable doll dressed as a Guantanamo Bay prisoner into the Disneyland theme park in California.

In 2015, Banksy created a large-scale installation titled Dismaland Bemusement Park, and immersive and fully functional amusement park that featured political commentary on the distribution of wealth, sexism, and the UK government. The park operated from August to September of 2015, was funded by Banksy himself. In addition to his regular graffiti practice, Banksy creates works for several charities, and consistently opens exhibitions to wide audiences and critical acclaim. He lives and works in England.