Hailing from Bristol, England, Banksyʼs idiosyncratic brand of street art developed after his efforts at producing more conventional New York-style graffiti apparently proved a failure. Turning to stencils, he developed a voice that was both provocative and unique, and set about decorating city centre locations with life size iconography and wry humor. Notable targets have included the separation barrier in Palestine, New Orleans levee wall and the penguin enclosure at London Zoo. Largely avoiding traditional art galleries Banksy has instead favored disused warehouses and abandoned shop fronts for art shows, displaying work in London, Los Angeles, New York and Bethlehem. He has produced his own range of forged currency, pseudo-ancient artifacts and guilt-framed classical ʻmasterpiecesʼ, which are then surreptitiously added to the collections of venerable institutions such as the Louvre and the British Museum. His street pieces, which have come to include sculpture and installations, are now often removed and sold at auction, but have also on occasion been granted preservation status by the very city councils once so vehement about their removal. “Itʼs easier to get forgiveness than permission” he commented.