Though the main focus of Dismaland was on art and creating installations & sculptures that visitors can interact with, Banksy and his team involved other artists that either visually or otherwise match his aesthetics or theme. So along with the ones presenting their gallery works, they included several artists whose primary form or place of expression are the streets or public spaces.
These days where street art is building almost a negative reputation of being generic, decorative and more about quantity (or size), than the quality (or message), the “bemusdment” park did an excellent job selecting only a few names to represent the variety of possibilities out there – Steve Powers aka ESPO, Axel Void, Escif and Banksy himself. Working on a funfair with a twist, ESPO’s colorful, sign-like murals with demotivational messages that tell the raw, hard to swallow truth, are perfect fit for the show. Axel Void’s works usually mix classic painting, often dark and uncomfortable, with sharp textual messages as a punch line. His Mediocore mural at the main building of Dismaland is a great example of such an effective concept. Opposite of that, Escif paints both large works, but more often, simple public space miniatures. Ridiculing historic, social or economical events, his minimalist style is hard to overlook but easy to read. This was especially evident in his American Piss piece painted around the toilette section. Finally, Banksy created number of canvases, sculptures, installations and attractions for this unique event, but couldn’t resist sneaking in a signature stencil piece showing two boys at the beach, peeking at a lady taking a shower behind the the iron fence. Carefully applying over spray for shading and patterns for the behind the fence silhouette, he once again proved the ability to work his way around any kind of image with maximum effect.
