Art has always had its con-men, provocateurs, and calculated showmen. But few have blurred the line between parody and commercial success as effectively as Mr. Brainwash.
Running a gallery, I spend a lot of time considering and researching the art world. Occasionally I step into a certain kind of gallery – the ones that specialise in selling art at scale. I don’t go in as a casual browser. I go in because I find it fascinating, almost incredulous, how well these places do. It’s like an investigation into the psychology of the market at its most manufactured – into what people are really buying when they buy ‘art’ in these kinds of galleries, and to my mind rather than buying ‘art’ in the traditional and authentic sense, they’re buying something else altogether: social validation, a status symbol, the junk food of the gallery system – an easily digestible product that mimics the appearance of art without any depth or nutritional value. These works are created and sold in high volume – designed to guarantee comfort and validation and requiring no need for personal discrimination or personal taste. It’s a system that prioritises branding and familiarity over originality.
These galleries have perfected a formula: a print, hand-finished with a splash of paint – a work that blatantly references a more famous artist but with just enough of a tweak to be repackaged as unique. Not homage, not pastiche, but something more calculated – art designed to reassure by removing the need for buyers to form any of their own opinions. Because buying truly original art takes courage. It demands that a buyer stand behind their own instincts rather than deferring to something pre-approved, pre-validated, pre-sold as ‘cool.’ That’s why so many artists of talent and integrity struggle while a certain kind of work flies off the walls.
Selling Out vs Authenticity
I was speaking with an artist recently who has work at a well-known art fair. Their sales haven’t reflected what I believe the work deserves. Meanwhile, another artist in the same gallery is selling out.. despite their ‘work’ consisting of printed images they didn’t create, slightly altered, then ‘hand-finished’ and framed as something new.
This conversation struck me because it highlights the tension between authenticity and commercial success. Artists know they could create work that would sell easily by making something reassuring enough for buyers to hang on their walls, but those with integrity resist because not only would they sell out.. they’d also be selling out.
As a gallery owner, I frequently turn down work that would sell because it doesn’t meet our standards or demonstrate the unique vision, originality or quality that we champion at New Blood Art and it would feel like selling out for everyone involved: myself as the gallery owner, the artist creating it, and even you the buyer who deserves better than mass-market reassurance – patronising brainwashing disguised as art.
Which Brings Me to Mr. Brainwash..
I was in one of these high-turnover galleries last week and asked the gallery assistant how business was going. For context – the art market has been quite slow overall and though sales are beginning to pick up again it’s tough for artists and galleries right now, though I’ve found almost every time I’ve stepped into one of these galleries, that there is an over enthusiasm – an almost scripted confidence in how well things are going. Maybe in this case, with a new Mr. Brainwash release, the success was real. But more often than not, I suspect the optimism is just another part of the pretense – in the same way their art is a pretense.
“It’s amazing! It’s been the best month we can remember.”
That surprised me and I said, wow that’s brilliant – especially given how the market overall has been lately..
“We had a new release. Mr. Brainwash. Sold out within an hour.”
And she showed me one of the works – a mash-up of Banksy references repackaged and rebranded as something new. I asked: “Does Banksy mind?”
“Oh no, he’s really behind this artist.”
And this took me to Exit Through the Gift Shop – the documentary directed by Banksy.
A Mockumentary or Documentary?
Wasn’t that documentary (mockumentary?) meant to be a joke? A staged experiment about the absurdity of the art market? A test to see just how much people would pay for branding over originality? Banksy himself has remained ambiguous about whether the film is real or staged, simply stating “Yes” when asked if it’s real. Critics have described it as a “prankumentary,” with some believing it’s an elaborate joke designed to critique what qualifies as art and who gets to be called an artist.
The ridiculousness of Mr. Brainwash’s persona further fuels this debate. In his interviews he is often utterly nonsensical, leaving many incredulous that anyone invests in this man’s work or takes him seriously as an artist.
This absurdity is central to Exit Through the Gift Shop’s satire: how could someone so seemingly unqualified become an overnight sensation? Which posits the question – is Banksy Mr. Brainwash? Staging a satirical prank at the expense of those art buyers who are not thinking for themselves?
What Would It Mean for Galleries and Collectors?
If it were ever confirmed that Mr. Brainwash was an elaborate hoax orchestrated by Banksy – a clever and in fact utterly transparent critique of consumerism, loss of independent thought, inauthenticity, and branding culture in the art market, what might this do to the value of Mr. Brainwash’s work? Would this elevate the prices of the work further as part of an elaborate meta-commentary? or if the illusion falls away and buyers are left with the truth: that they paid (quite a lot of money) for vacuosity.
And what about the galleries that championed Mr. Brainwash? While genuinely respected gallerists wouldn’t show the work – the fallout could expose vulnerabilities in more commercialised parts of the market where branding often outweighs substance.
Have people been brainwashed into thinking that by owning this art or having something associated with such hype they can use their money to project an image of sophistication or knowledge? And yet, what does it really say? Is this Banksy’s hidden message? That in trying so hard to look like you know something about art, you might actually reveal that you know nothing at all? It’s The Emperor’s New Clothes for our time – a farcical display where everyone is too afraid to admit there may be nothing behind the hype.
Perhaps Mr. Brainwash is – as he ‘himself’ once said, “as much a creation of Banksy as he is an autonomous creature.”
Conclusion: A Call for Authenticity
If there was ever a moment for Banksy to stand up and raise his hand – to confirm what has been speculated in a handful of articles then it might be now. The world needs authentic thinkers more than ever before rather than letting others – or social media – define them.
People who know a little about art and stop and actually look, really look and think for themselves – can see through this immediately. But the wider public is being fooled and this isn’t just about Mr. Brainwash; it’s a microcosm, a satire, a reflection of something much bigger. Banksy (if he is behind this) is exposing something far beyond the art market. He’s showing how easily people allow their identity to be shaped from the outside – how they’re told what to value and are not thinking or making decisions for themselves; they’re outsourcing their own taste, their own thinking, their own sense of self. And that is a real issue of our time. It’s happening everywhere. It’s why children on social media feel they must look a certain way, behave a certain way, own certain things in order to be accepted. It’s why people buy into trends without questioning them. It’s why buyers can justify paying tens of thousands for a repackaged illusion of art.
And the most obvious clue? Is in the name – Mr. Brainwash – we are literally being told by the artist that this is a scam.
If enough people agree something has value, does it actually matter if it’s a print stuck on a canvas? Or does the value come from the sheer weight of collective agreement, rather than any inherent artistic merit? Because at a glance, there’s colour, there’s something familiar – it’s easy to like. But when you actually examine the content of the work itself, you see it for what it is – a joke, at your expense.
Real art requires thinking for yourself. And until people do, they’ll keep buying in to Mr. Brainwash.
– Written by Sarah Ryan.
In the meantime, if you’re looking for originality and are brave enough to trust your own judgement and stand behind a real artist working with integrity to express their unique vision – browse recently arrived original art by talented fine artists: