An anarchic amusement park by street artist Banksy that mocked capitalism and consumer culture has brought an economic boom to a faded British seaside town.
Banksy’s Dismaland “bemusement park” transformed a derelict outdoor swimming pool in Weston-Super-Mare into a macabre parody of a theme park, complete with a derelict castle, a dead Cinderella and a Grim Reaper in a bumper car.
Local officials say the attraction, which closed yesterday after five weeks, drew more than 150,000 people to the southwest England town of 75,000.
Photo: Reuters
Fans from around the world snapped up all available tickets — limited to 4,000 a day — for the event billed as a “festival of art, amusements and entry-level anarchism.”
A final concert on Friday night featured performances by groups such as De La Soul, Pussy Riot and Blur singer Damon Albarn.
Tourism body Visit Somerset said the exhibition had brought ￡20 million (US$30 million) to a region that has struggled since foreign vacations replaced local seaside holidays for many Britons.
Officials hope to use the shuttered site for future art and performance events.
Banksy said the project was not a swipe at Disney, despite its familiar-looking castle logo.
It satirized the tourism and entertainment industries, with exhibits including a sculpture of a woman being attacked by a cloud of seagulls and a pond where visitors could steer model boats crammed with migrants.
The site also featured work by about 50 international and British artists.
The artist told the Sunday Times newspaper he was inspired by the seasonal theme parks that pop up at Christmas “where they stick some antlers on an Alsatian dog” and spray fake snow around.
“It’s ambitious, but it’s also crap,” he said. “I think there’s something very poetic and British about all that.”
Banksy, who has never disclosed his full identity, began his career spray-painting buildings in his home town of Bristol — near Weston — and has become one of the world’s best-known street artists.
His often satirical works have sold for as much as US$1.8 million at auction.
BYPASSING CHINA TARIFFS: In the first five months of this year, Foxconn sent US$4.4bn of iPhones to the US from India, compared with US$3.7bn in the whole of last year Nearly all the iPhones exported by Foxconn Technology Group (富士康科技集團) from India went to the US between March and last month, customs data showed, far above last year’s average of 50 percent and a clear sign of Apple Inc’s efforts to bypass high US tariffs imposed on China. The numbers, being reported by Reuters for the first time, show that Apple has realigned its India exports to almost exclusively serve the US market, when previously the devices were more widely distributed to nations including the Netherlands and the Czech Republic. During March to last month, Foxconn, known as Hon Hai Precision Industry
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) and the University of Tokyo (UTokyo) yesterday announced the launch of the TSMC-UTokyo Lab to promote advanced semiconductor research, education and talent development. The lab is TSMC’s first laboratory collaboration with a university outside Taiwan, the company said in a statement. The lab would leverage “the extensive knowledge, experience, and creativity” of both institutions, the company said. It is located in the Asano Section of UTokyo’s Hongo, Tokyo, campus and would be managed by UTokyo faculty, guided by directors from UTokyo and TSMC, the company said. TSMC began working with UTokyo in 2019, resulting in 21 research projects,
Ashton Hall’s morning routine involves dunking his head in iced Saratoga Spring Water. For the company that sells the bottled water — Hall’s brand of choice for drinking, brushing his teeth and submerging himself — that is fantastic news. “We’re so thankful to this incredible fitness influencer called Ashton Hall,” Saratoga owner Primo Brands Corp’s CEO Robbert Rietbroek said on an earnings call after Hall’s morning routine video went viral. “He really helped put our brand on the map.” Primo Brands, which was not affiliated with Hall when he made his video, is among the increasing number of companies benefiting from influencer
Quanta Computer Inc (廣達) chairman Barry Lam (林百里) yesterday expressed a downbeat view about the prospects of humanoid robots, given high manufacturing costs and a lack of target customers. Despite rising demand and high expectations for humanoid robots, high research-and-development costs and uncertain profitability remain major concerns, Lam told reporters following the company’s annual shareholders’ meeting in Taoyuan. “Since it seems a bit unworthy to use such high-cost robots to do household chores, I believe robots designed for specific purposes would be more valuable and present a better business opportunity,” Lam said Instead of investing in humanoid robots, Quanta has opted to invest
RSS