New works by elusive street artist Banksy will be available for sale at The Walled Off Hotel’s gift shop in Palestinian territories for first time in four years. The collection includes limited-edition crucifixes that have been shaped into giant grappling hooks, and painted key rings and ornaments fashioned after parts of the wall that separates Israel and Palestine. Banksy had opened the hotel, museum and protest gallery space facing a huge concrete stretch of wall in March. Topped with barbed wire, it passes through Bethlehem. The gift shop will adjoin the hotel and open its doors in autumn.
The last time Banksy had put up his works for sale was in 2013, when he set up a small, anonymous pop-up stall in Central Park in New York, where fortunate passers-by could buy original signed canvases for $60 (£38). Those prices seem like incredible deals when compared with auction prices, where a few of the Central Park works have sold for more than £120,000. While a majority of the new works will only be sold at the West Bank shop, a few will also be available in the hotel’s online store, notes The Guardian. If you want to be the lucky owner of a limited edition crucifix grappling hook, remember to place an order before you travel to the West Bank. In stark contrast to the astronomical auction prices, miniature reproductions of the hotel key fobs, which are shaped like portions of the concrete separation wall, will be sold at 90 shekels (£20), or 230 shekels for those who would like it hand-painted. The items also include souvenir reproductions of segments of the separation wall, some featuring Banksy’s popular Girl with Balloon image, and others emblazoned with political mottos like “Free Palestine.” One print depicting the wall’s Israeli military watchtower as a fairground swing ride, set behind a real chiselled piece of the wall, is priced at 575 shekels.
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