Banksy’s Famous Shredded Painting is Retitled and Redated for the Second Time

Banksy’s famous painting that shredded at auction has been renamed and issued a new date for the second time. The piece, Girl with Balloon, was previously renamed Love is in the Bin by the artist’s studio, Pest Control, after it was shredded during a live auction at Sotheby’s in 2018.

The auction house learned of the most recent name change while organizing the “Love in Paradise: Banksy and Keith Haring” exhibition at Paradise Art Space in Incheon in South Korea last August. Pest Control did not explain the reason behind the title change, the Art Newspaper reported.

During its initial sale in October 2018, Girl with Balloon (2006) self-destructed in the Sotheby’s London salesroom. A shredding mechanism that was hidden within the painting’s frame was activated with the winning bid.

At that time, Pest Control renamed the half-shredded piece to Love is in the Bin, as well as a date change to 2018, and, following a week of negotiations with Sotheby’s, a new certificate of authenticity was issued. The auction house then convinced the winning bidder to complete the purchase for £1.04 million ($1 million), plus fees.

Love is in the Bin returned to Sotheby’s in London in October 2021. The piece ultimately fetched a record £16 million (£18.5 million or $25.3 million with fees). After the sale, the work was retitled Girl Without Balloon and given a new date of 2021. It is unclear whether a new certificate of authentication was created.

“There was physically only one work. But the change in title implies that the work changed status in the mind of the artist,” Nick Buckley Wood, the director of private sales at Sotheby’s in Asia, told the Art Newspaper.