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Crowds roll up for a Banksy
By Ellen Widdup, Evening Standard 18.12.06
Spoof: Banksy's anti-war picture shows protesters raising a US flag on top of a car wreck instead of soldiers planting it on Iwo Jima
Investment: art lovers clutch their £100 prints
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Hundreds of art lovers queued overnight to be the first to buy limited-edition prints by street artist Banksy.
They braved freezing temperatures outside the graffiti artist's makeshift "pop-up" art gallery grotto in Oxford Street to pick up sealed cardboard tubes containing the black-and-white poster called Flag.
But after paying £100 for the print many admitted it was a disappointment. Some said they intended to sell it on internet auction site eBay. A total of 1,000 limitededition prints were up for grabs - with all proceeds going to charity.
The artist's sale took place at 9am in Santa's Ghetto, but some dedicated fans had slept on the street.
The last time Oxford Street saw so many people camping out overnight was earlier this month when the Nintendo Wii went on sale at HMV.
Artist Carlo Raffa, from Brighton, was the first in line to buy one of the prints.
"I arrived at 11.30pm with two friends and we slept in thermals wrapped in sleeping bags in the doorway. We were not the only ones," said 33-year-old.
"I have been trying to get my hands on a Banksy for the last three years, so I didn't-want to miss out." Banksy started out spray-painting walls and bridges with political messages and anti-war slogans.
One of his most recent pieces is of a man who bears a resemblance to Michael Jackson crouching at the doorway of a gingerbread cottage offering children candy.
The print for sale today was also satirical - a spoof of the famous photograph of US soldiers raising the Stars and Stripes at Iwo Jima. In Banksy's version, the figures are urban protesters, clambering on a wrecked car.
Mr Raffo said the event was only advertised on a chalkboard inside the shop, which is open for 23 days over Christmas.
He said: "Unfortunately, I was disappointed. It was machine-printed with no signature or number, which I thought was a bit of a mockery of all of his fans. I am probably going to sell mine on eBay.
The first 25 people in the queue got a free poster of the Tony Blair work, which I was happier with."
The picture of Mr Blair shows the Prime Minister posing with his mobile phone camera and taking a photo of a huge explosion in the Middle East desert.
The print, which was displayed in the pop-up shop window when it first opened, is typical of Banksy's anti-war pieces. No10 demanded its removal.
Cathryn Taylor, 24, a production coordinator from Tooting, said: "Banksy is very controversial but that is his appeal.
"These days, we need people to stand up and say what they think and stop big-shot politicians walking all over us."
In the first week of opening, Santa's Ghetto took an estimated £300,000. It is believed money was divided between artists who showcased work to pay for materials.
Luca Compo-Stella, 34, an IT consultant from Bethnal Green, said: "He really goes beyond boundaries. Essentially, he is a graffiti artist, but it is so much more than that. He makes people think."
A spokeswoman for the artist said: "All proceeds from the sale are being used to perform cataract operations on kids in Bangladesh. If anyone bought this print to re-sell for profit, they should consider making a further donation themselves."
