Disyland - Sign

Jeff Gillette (b. 1959, American) “Disylnd” (2015) Digital Print; Open Edition; Signed by the artist in the lower right; 13 x 19” (paper), 9.6 x 17" (image), with mat and frame, it measures 18.5 x 24.5 inches. This apocalyptic image was one of those Gillette created for, and displayed at, Banksy’s “Dismaland” project in the UK in 2015. Here, the Disneyland theme park is shown in shambles, a crumbling corporate giant.

For years, Jeff Gillette has been combining Disney images and characters with wasteland settlements and slums. In 2010 he created a body of paintings he called “Dismayland” - works portraying a slum surrounding the iconic Disneyland theme park. Gillette’s work may have provided a spark for Banksy’s idea to create “Dismaland” – a major temporary installation project created in 2015 in an abandoned swimming resort in the U.K. In fact, Banksy invited Gillette to participate and exhibit in “Dismaland.” Gillette continues to portray Disney images, corporate logos, and pop icons on destroyed buildings shantytown settlements, or deserted areas.