Barely Legal was a show by graffiti artist
Banksy
Banksy is a pseudonymous England-based street artist, political activist, and film director whose real name and identity remain unconfirmed and the subject of speculation. Active since the 1990s, his satirical street art and subversive ep ...
, held in an industrial warehouse in
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...
, in 2006.
The free show was held over the weekend of 16 September 2006.
Part of the exhibition was a 37-year-old Indian elephant that was painted to match the wallpaper of the room in which it was placed. The show was meant to address important issues such as poverty, which is ignored by most people;
the animal was a literal representation of the "
elephant in the room
The expression "the elephant in the room" (or "the elephant in the living room") is a metaphorical idiom in English for an important or enormous topic, question, or controversial issue that is obvious or that everyone knows about but no one ment ...
".
While in Los Angeles, the artist also targeted
Disneyland
Disneyland is a amusement park, theme park at the Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, California. It was the first theme park opened by the Walt Disney Company and the only one designed and constructed under the direct supervision of Walt Disney, ...
in
Anaheim
Anaheim ( ) is a city in northern Orange County, California, United States, part of the Greater Los Angeles area. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 346,824, making it the most populous city in Orange County, the tenth-most ...
, where he placed a replica of a
Guantanamo Bay detainee inside the Big Thunder Mountain Railroad ride, intending to draw attention to the situation in the detention camp,
where several months earlier three inmates had committed suicide. The figure was taken down after approximately 90 minutes.
A video of the artist placing the figure in the theme park could also be seen at the exhibition.
See also
*
2006 in art
The year 2006 in art involved various significant events.
Events
*Rembrandt 400 – Series of activities to commemorate the 400th anniversary of the birth of Rembrandt.
*1 January – Resale Rights Directive in the European Union, providing a ' ...
*
List of works by Banksy
The following is a list of works by Banksy. Banksy, active since the 1990s, is an England-based graffiti artist, political activist and film director whose real identity is unknown. His satirical street art and subversive epigrams combine dark hu ...
References
{{Banksy
2006 in Los Angeles
Works by Banksy
Organized events in Los Angeles
Elephants in art
September 2006 in the United States