The Valentine’s Day Mascara Banksy painting has been on the move again to be displayed at an exhibition in London.
The Valentine’s Day Mascara was unveiled at Dreamland in June. The artwork originally appeared on a property in Margate’s Park Place on February 13. Removing the art was overseen by Red Eight Gallery which was called in by the artist owners of the property to deal with preservation and sale of the work.
Last month it was announced Dreamland will be the permanent home of the artwork following a decision to sell it by issuing shares.
Showpiece, the marketplace for some of the world’s rarest collectibles, announced a ‘fractional ownership’ plan for the piece, which has been valued at £6 million.
Fractional ownership means people can buy shares in an artwork, in this case the cost will be £120 per share with 27,000 shares on offer, which would raise £3.24m. Owners would be issued a deed representing their fraction of the artwork.
In the first ‘drop’ 2,100 pieces sold out in four days. The date for a second buying opportunity is due to be announced.
Now the art, which has been displayed in Dreamland’s Roller Room, is one of the 110 works in the Art Of Banksy exhibition at Regent Street.
The art, which weighs some 3.8 tonnes, has now been moved by crane to the foyer of the Art Of Banksy display.
The exhibition opens on September 13.
On social media Dreamland bosses said: “Banksy’s Valentine’s Day Mascara, currently housed in our Roller Room at Dreamland, is temporarily on the move.
“We are thrilled to let you know that the artwork will be heading to London to take part in the biggest exhibition of Banksy’s work ever.
“The Art of Banksy will be on display from 13 September in Regent Street London. “Valentine’s Day Mascara will be the first work that people will see, as it will be displayed in the foyer of the space, available for all to see for free.
“We anticipate that the artwork will return to Margate to take up its place in Dreamland again in early 2024. In the meantime, it is a real privilege that Valentine’s Day Mascara will be taking part in such a prestigious event.”
The piece shows a woman with a swollen shut eye and missing tooth with a man’s legs poking out from a chest freezer, alongside an upturned chair and is a comment on domestic violence.
The mural’s theme has seen a pledge to donate a six figure sum out of the sale price, to Oasis Domestic Abuse Service which has operated in Thanet for 30 years next year and expanded to North Kent and Medway in recent years.
The funding for Oasis will be used by the charity for preventative work aimed particularly at young people.
