Banksy's 'Love is in the bin' returns to Sotheby's auction

Banksy's 'Love is in the bin', the partially shredded version of 'Girl with Balloon', will be auctioned at Sotheby's London on October 14, 2021, during the Contemporary Art evening sale. The original work was famously self-destructed in October 2018 moments after selling for £1,042,000 (hammer price £950,000) against an estimate of £300,000. A hidden mechanism in the frame, triggered remotely by someone in the room—possibly Banksy himself—shredded the lower half of the canvas, leaving strips hanging. The buyer, who was present, chose to keep the work and pay the full price, a decision that proved prescient. The current estimate is £4–6 million, and the work is expected to sell for more. Banksy's stunt, intended as a critique of the art market, paradoxically boosted his market value, with subsequent records. The auction marks a return to 'the scene of the crime' at Sotheby's.