The wonderful, mischievous enigma that is Banksy has seemingly started a new chapter with the actual opening of his very own ‘homewares brand’. Gross Domestic Product started in high-profile fashion with a window-shopping only showroom in Croydon, England that came and went.
Now, GrossDomesticProduct.com is live with more or less official products ranging from what we’d call fine art multiples such as the Banksy Met Ball helmet and the Banksy Ultra HD TV to open-edition items including the Banksy Balloon Tee, Mugs (apparently painted by children) and more. Fittingly, all the products are crafted from locally available, recycled items.
Given high demand and the unusual nature of the products, the purchasing process is not a direct one but involves instead selecting an item and indicating you’d like to purchase it. Successful ‘applicants’ will receive an email with further instructions.
Perhaps almost as interesting as the once unlikely idea of Banksy selling merchandise is his stated reason for doing so. He has explained that that he is taking this step at the advice of his lawyers as way of protecting his art and name from a greeting card company, an apparent reference to Full Colour Black, that is selling products with photos of his art. What’s really interesting is it appears that most of the presumed-official Banksy art toys appear to be relying on ‘licenses from … Full Colour Black including the recent Mighty Jaxx release and it appears Medicom‘s Brandalism Sync line. If this post seems a bit hand-wavy, that’s intentional. With Banksy, absolute black + white fact is often elusive.
With that said, the store is open.
[GDP Store photo: Colossal]
