Photo by:

“Exit Through the Gift Shop” was meant to be a glimpse into the world of the global graffiti artist known as Banksy. However, when filmmaker Thierry Guetta set out to create the documentary, his life instead became the focal point.

“Exit through the Gift Shop” documents the movement and culture of street art. The film itself is meant to preserve a work of art’s life span that is cut short by the weather or the corporate fisherman who picks it off the street and tries to sell it back to the people.

Street art is the “biggest counterculture movement since punk,” narrator of the film, Rhys Ifans informs viewers. Street artists use pubic space as their canvas, and using this unsanctioned space to display work often leads others to label the art as graffiti.

According to Guetta’s commentary in the film, the “danger” of street art and the criminal variable kept him on a “spiral” deeper into the scene.

When Banksy came to Los Angeles in 2006, he was introduced to Guetta. Guetta says when he met Banksy he received the “piece needed to complete the puzzle.”

Banksy has succeeded at cloaking his identity while simultaneously evolving into one of the most successful street artists in the world. He has left remnants of his work on walls and structures Sydney to Paris, and even on the 425-mile-long barrier separating Israelis and Palestinians. Even in the film he wears a hood in every shot and uses a voice-altering device when narrating.

In the film, when Guetta said he wanted to create a documentary on the movement, Banksy accepted the opportunity. Banksy knew that the art itself was subject to weathering and destruction, and he said art “wouldn’t last forever.”

When Banksy discovered that Guetta’s filming was closer to a compulsive habit than professional filming, Banksy proposed that Guetta try to make some art, which left Banksy in the position to pick up the reins of filming. The result was far from anything Banksy expected.

“I used to encourage everyone to make art,” said Banksy, followed by a pause. “I don’t really do that anymore.”

The audience may walk into the theater craving to see the bird’s-eye and the worm’s-eye view of Banksy’s life, it may leave with a void in the place of this desire. Questions of Banksy’s identity are never addressed. Banksy’s face and voice are no more identifiable than before the film.