Dismaland was a pop-up event created by Artist Banksy, It was down in Weston-Super-Mare and ran for only 36 days. The event looked fake, everything was hush hush, even the locals had no idea what was actually happening. I drove down (9 hrs drive) and shot the whole exhibition on an iPhone 5s (8mp) in black and white. Then I edited them in lightroom which really enhanced the beauty of the exhibits. The feel of the exhibits where dark and dreary, highlighting a lot of uncomfortable social issues. The combination of how it was shot and edited helps capture this heavy atmosphere. I then used the images to create an interactive PDF (see “Dismaland PDF”)
Central castle in the middle of the lido (Block9).
Que to Dismaland, waiting to get in.
Back of the mermaid sculpture in the pond (Banksy).
Front of the police riot van in the water (Banksy).
Mediocre mural (Axel Void).
Mermaid in the pond in front of the castle (Block9 (castle)).
Dark close up of the mermaid in the pond (Banksy), fascinating piece where you know what it is but the view is distorted, maybe like the way fairytales are portrayed.
Old ride on toys and the wall behind is all done up (ESPO)
Mouse being consumed by the snake (Banksy).
Overview of the park.
Park walk way behind the castle.
Heading into the castle, righthand view of the park.
“The Cinderella” (Banksy), this was a very dark room and you are hurried threw it so it was hard to take pictures (but I think that was the point).
“The Cinderella” (Banksy), a better picture showing the paparazzi straight in snapping pictures of this staged tragedy.
Back of the exhibitions looking to the front.
Killer whale jumping out of a toilet (Banksy), This was one of my favourite pieces, I felt like it was commenting of sea world and the cruel tiny pools they keep there whales in.
Scaffolding horse sculpture (Ben Long).
Side view of the park.
Showing the sad reality of workers verse bosses (Occupy Design)
A tent full of banners and signs, mixed artist (Ed Hall, Banners Tinsel Edwards, signs).
Cartoon posters (Mana Neyestani) text posters (Geodome & iwgb).
Being British banner, make you question your nationality (Ed Hall).
More banners, there was so many good banners one picture just couldn’t capture it (Ed Hall).
Oil drums leaking out onto the “mini gulf” course.
A giant sandcastle with a giant pinwheel in it was donated to western-super-mare after the event.
Area full of puppets made from undesirables found in skips (Paul Insect & Båst).
Selfie hole, totally mocking the popular self obsessed behaviour (Lush).
Cleverly worded signs on large electronic boards (Jenny Holzer).
Dancing grim reaper (Banksy), Beegee’s stayin’ alive, playing in the background.
Drawing board, there were cartoons being projected onto this changing from one cartoon to another and surrounded in paper as if lots f mistakes were made (Andreas Hykade).
This was a smiley face projected and spinning so it collapsed on itself, it was also used as the cover to the Dismaland program (James Joyce).
Using old frozen packages showing how little vegetables actually go into these frozen meals, it’s also totally recycled (Caroline McCarthy).
Vending machine baby (Tattooed in brands), how brands directly affect our identity (Dietrich Wegner).
Two of the four paintings by this artist, interesting landscapes with elements for pretty Disney images contrasted with landfill (Jeff Gillette)
Giant Ferris wheel, same idea something that should be nice but it’s full of waste and decaying (Jeff Gillette).
The final piece by this artist looks like the slums and full of rubbish and pollution but silly Disney birds (Jeff Gillette).
“The Fragility of Love” tryna keep the balance of happiness and sadness (Damien Hirst).
Turning a boring cucumber into something fun (Brock Davis).
Takes a while to see what’s going on, taking something normal but twist it (Brock Davis).
Inspired by something you would see in a high school textbook, I like that’s very different for most art pieces (Josh Keyes).
Trees are being cut down and pouring out blood (Paco Pomet).
The ice caps melting because of global warming (Paco Pomet).
A shaved tattooed bunny wearing a gas mask (Kate MacDowell).
Interesting piece, the skeletal insides of a merry go round (Maskull Lasserre).
I almost walked past this piece hidden in the broken wall, a painting of an aerosol can with a no flame sign (Banksy).
Turning cereal boxes into a message, so you think you know but it tells you another message (Jani Leinonen).
Mocking Michelangelo’s “Creation of Adam”, hanging above the entrance to the model police city.
A frozen town is full of police and chaos (Jimmy Cauty).
A different angle of this chaotic town, it’s made up of 23 crates (5ft by 5ft),(JImmy Cauty).
Last picture of the chaotic town (Jimmy Cauty).
Interesting idea to graffiti over a painting then have a person paint over that (Lush).
Showing cultural change stuff that was once important has shifted “Esif” (Skate 4 Eva).
Open-air movies, playing a few short movies.
Big rig jig to twisted monstrous trucks stacked on top of each other (Mike Ross).
Tired out bull (dorcas Casey).
Creepy tea set with fingers and teeth (Ronit Baranga).
Animatronic bunny, snapping a magician’s wand (Banksy).
Women showering, kids nosing (Banksy).
Boat pond, you can control these boats which are jam-packed with immigrants (Banksy).
Get the back of your head drawn, a portrait of your hair (Nettie Wakefield).
Merry-go-round with meat mocking horse meat scandal (Banksy).
Silly carnival game knock the anvil off with a ping pong ball, If you don’t knock it over you get a rubber bracelet (David Shrigley).
Loopy bench (Michael Beitz).
Loopy bench is not just a sculpture also practical (Michael Beitz).
Burnt ice cream truck where the programs were sold.
View of the mini-golf course and tent with the painted banners.
Police riot van, with slide and water coming out of it (Banksy).
One last view of the mermaid, castle and the wheel.
Funny sign warning of a large drop, I just thought it was funny as it used to be a shallow part of the pool.
Jenn Vass 