Banksy Glasgow show: What it was like to be first through the door

Why the plaudits from Banksy’s inner circle before a ball has even been kicked? Well, it’s the fact that, before the announcement that it was happening went live at 00.01 on the day it opened (to members of the press for a first behind-the-scenes look), it was able to remain a secret. 

Not easy given the fact Banksy’s team and Glasgow Life, which runs the GoMA, had been preparing for Scotland’s biggest city to host ‘Cut & Run’ for fully two-and-a-half years, and the past few weeks getting all the hundreds of authentic artefacts and ephemera in situ. 

It may well be that, with the recent spate of Banksy exhibitions that have been organised across the globe - without the artist's knowledge or involvement - anyone who may have got wind of the show just assumed it was like the rest. 

READ MORE: Banksy unveils Glasgow show spanning 25 years of iconic works

But this isn’t. 

So filled to the gunwales is the GoMA ground floor with Banksy’s work, spanning from 1998 to the present day, you’d be forgiven for thinking you’d somehow entered some sort of TARDIS or porthole to another dimension where sardonic street art reigns supreme - a Wonka’s Factory of sorts where instead of grassy meadows and chocolate rivers it’s spray paint and signage. 

I doubt anyone who waltzes their way through Bansky’s inner mind will come away with anything other than an abnormal, intense feeling of appreciation for a person who remains anonymous.

Perhaps it was the rare treat of being ‘forced’ to consume the exhibition in its entirety without so much as a single snap on your mobile phone via the ‘no drawings of electrical devices’ rule.

Banksy: Cut and Run at the GoMa (Image: Colin Mearns)

Jokes aside, the new exhibition really is a surreal cornucopia of everything Banksy under one Glasgow museum roof; stencils, scrap bits of paper, statues, placards, and street furniture.

For aficionados like myself who consumed Banksy’s Wall and Piece from cover to cover when it first hit the shelves many moons ago, it almost feels like you are saying hello to an old friend who, without warning, pours their heart out to you, explaining every (artistic) decision they ever made in the smallest detail. Or an old favourite song that you hear again.

Moving and emotional in parts, especially when Banksy speaks to their graffiti beginnings or when the artist’s stencils point to serious subject matters (ie the Ukraine War or the November 2015 Paris attacks), it is also incredibly funny, thanks, in the most part, to Banksy’s hilarious, self-deprecating taglines that instantly puncture any preconceived notions of pomposity. 

I wasn’t even five minutes in the door and yet here I was wondering how many more times I might be able to squeeze in a visit before it closes its doors on August 28.

Banksy’s ubiquity trades punches with just how truly seminal the exhibition seems in categorising the artist’s output over the past 25 years. 

IN PICTURES: First look at solo Banksy exhibition in Glasgow

The exhibition feels like a watershed moment, where the artist’s assessment of their own legacy coalesces with our assessment of Banksy’s contribution to contemporary society. 

And the best part? It’s happening in Glasgow. Metres away from Banksy’s favourite piece of art - the cone atop the Duke of Wellington statue.

As Gareth James, Museum Manager at GoMA, said, it’s a perfect fit for GoMA and the city. 

A city where the majority of Banksy's stencils that once adorned its walls have been allowed to fade into oblivion or be painted over, rather than be robbed of their temporary form behind perspex screens.

In Glasgow, it seems, Banksy has found a home.