Banksy’s Dismaland: what the critics think

“Think of this as a fairground that embraces brutality and low level criminality” is how Banksy charmingly describes his anarchic theme park, that’s hardly been devoid of attention from the worldwide press or public since its unexpected reveal last Friday at Weston-Super-mare.

In fact, Dismaland has already even hosted its first wedding. But the show, the artist’s first since the tremendously successful Banksy vs Bristol Museum exhibition in 2009, has, of course, in typical Banksy fashion, divided the critics.

Ever so kindly, we’ve put together a round-up of the reviews in so far; both the complementary, and the, well, not so complementary, for you to ponder.

For Chris Green at The Independent, the “deeply unsettling, yet bizarrely entertaining” experience of even the three galleries alone at the derelict lido make it a worthwhile visit.

Green remarks that they were “worth double the modest entrance fee on their own”. The collection, features an eclectic array of over 50 selected artists. These include one that Banksy states has in the past “burnt a million pounds”, another that has “spent forty years making banners in his shed” and then there is also, as told to Channel 4 “a lady from a Lithuanian village who does traditional floral embroidery but with a power drill into the sides of cars”.

Over at The Daily Telegraph, Mark Hudson makes it perfectly clear his thoughts on Dismaland: “it was excellent and I loved it.”

Why the lavish praise, you might ask? Well, for Hudson, it’s Banksy’s “ability to sum up an idea in an unforgettable, and grimly hilarious image.” He refers to the upturned pumpkin carriage in the derelict castle at the park, featuring a lifeless Cinderella surrounded by a mirage of flashing paparazzi lights.

It’s fair to say this work has been one of Banksy’s more provocative, given its strong Princess Diana connotations. Yet, it’s received warmly by Hudson, who sees this as just one of the many works that evoke Dismalands “gleeful, establishment-blaming, adolescent despair”.

It is a thought not particularly shared by Channel 4’s Krishnan Guru-Murphy, who felt the warped Cinderella was ultimately “shocking, evocative and emotional”. Though surely not so much of a surprise given that we are talking about a piece by a known provocateur?

Green appears to sum it up nicely: “It is Disney reimagined for the Princess Diana generation, as unpleasant to view as it is difficult to look away.”

Meanwhile, Jonathan Jones at The Guardian, to put it midly, was not blown away by the “Bemusement Park.” The crudeness of some of the works, notably of the “peculiar lack of human feeling” of a mother and child mere moments away from being engulfed by a tsunami,  did not impress the critic.

He bemoaned Banksy’s inability to produce work that wasn’t anything other than one dimensional, and this applied to the artists that had been chosen too.

In another similarly unimpressed review, Ben Luke at The Evening Standard summarised Dismaland as like clickbait;  “momentarily arresting, quickly forgotten”. Ouch.

However, it wasn’t all bad for Luke. There were good parts, such Jimmy Cauty’s “apocalyptic” minatures, calling it “a corner of sincere radical politics”.

These ravaged cityscapes, with one depicting an acutely detailed and dilapidated McDonald’s amongst a riotous scene surrounded by police, is also from the very same artist who allegedly burnt a million pounds, in case you wondered.

So, that’s what the critics say, but for those of you who would like to come to your own conclusions, the “theme park unsuitable for children” is open to the public up until September 27. More details here.