Shredded Banksy work sells for €21.9 million

Incredible.

Breaking new records, a piece of artwork by the anonymous artist Banksy has sold for €21.9 million. Selling for 18 times its original price, the piece was first bought by a European art collector for €1.18 million in 2018 at a Sotheby’s auction. The value then increased on the piece of work when a shredder hidden in the gold frame of the painting began to partially destroy it in front of everyone's eyes. The piece was originally first spotted on a wall in East London and has since become one of the artists most well-known pieces, showing a spray-painted girl reaching for a balloon. First being called Girl with Balloon, it was later renamed Love is in the Bin. The auction house has now said that this piece has sold for more than any other by a street artist, with nine bidders facing off in a bidding war that lasted ten minutes. Expecting to be sold for £4 to £6 million, the piece ended up breaking records and selling for £18.3 million, around €21.9 million. Alex Branczik, Sotheby’s head of modern and contemporary art, told the MailOnline: "Banksy sparked a global sensation that has since become a cultural phenomenon. "Banksy did not so much destroy a piece of artwork by shredding it, but instead created one. "Today this piece is considered heir to a venerated legacy of anti-establishment art." Banksy began creating his world-famous artwork back in the 1980s before making a named for himself with the spray paintings on walls in Bristol.