BANKSY
In The Event of A Divorce Cut Here, 2010
Spray-paint on masonite in artist’s frame
48.8 x 66.6 cm (19 1/4 x 26 1/4 inches)
Signed “BANKSY” lower right
Provenance
Gift from the artist
Auction History
Christie’s New-York: 11 November 2010
Estimated: USD 20,000 – 30,000
Price realized: USD 146,500
Banksy (b. 1975) , In the Event of a Divorce Cut Here | Christie’s
In In the Event of Divorce, Banksy delivers one of his most cutting reinterpretations of the now-iconic Girl with Balloon. The composition is starkly divided: the girl and the balloon, symbols of innocence and hope, are this time separated by a vertical dashed line reminiscent of a cut-out guide. At the bottom, a deceptively simple instruction reads: “In the event of divorce cut here.”
What begins as a visual pun quickly unfolds into a bleak yet brilliantly witty commentary on the legal and emotional entanglements of separation. The dashed line evokes a courtroom ruling, suggesting that even intangible things like love, memory, and longing are subject to division. The heart-shaped balloon, once full of poetic potential, now becomes a contested object—one more asset to be sliced in half.
This work exemplifies Banksy’s genius for collapsing humor, heartbreak, and social critique into a single image. It also highlights his masterful use of minimalism: with only a few simple colors (black, red, and white), he turns a universal experience into a quiet tragedy dressed as a joke.
