Mr Brainwash

A 25 foot gorrila, made from sliced tyres at Design Junction preview at the old sorting office, London, by Mr Brainwash
Me and the gorilla. Grrrr....
Like most people I first heard of Mr Brainwash, aka MBW, aka Thierry Guetta when watching Banksy's Oscar-nominated 2010 documentary (mockumentary?) Exit through the Gift Shop.
And like most people, my friends, husband and I thought about the idea that Mr Brainwash was a creation of Banksy, maybe Bansky himself or perhaps Banksy’s greatest work so far. But not being a huge fan of Mr Brainwash’s work, thoughts of these questions have not been keeping me awake at night.
Not a huge fan of MBW? Hmm, perhaps I was mistaken.
Like most people in London I went to the recent Design Junction exhibition as part of London’s Design Festival, and like most people who were on the so-called VIP guest list, it seemed every man woman and baby were wanting to get into the late night show. After queuing for ages, walking up many steps and looking at an astonishing array of beautiful furniture, at the end of the evening the only photos I had taken were of a 25 foot gorilla made of sliced tyres wielding a pink paintbrush.
No-one at the event knew who was responsible for the installation, but it turns out to be left over from Mr Brainwash’s recent show in September, at the same location.
After doing a bit of secret squirreling on the internet, I found out that he was also responsible for another bit of large street art that I had recently liked, and photographed.
So, I will have to retract my previous smug statement about not being a fan of Mr Brainwash’s work. Which has started me thinking about Banksy, MBW and whether I too have been ‘suckered’ in to all of this street-art-hype - like most people - and trust me, that is a question that will keep me awake for a night or two.
Work by Mr Brainwash - The old sorting office, London - September 2012.




