

Cans Festival Lithograph Poster
2008
Lithograph Poster

In early May 2008, Banksy organized ‘The Cans Festival’ in south-east London. With a play on words and homage to the more glamourous and better-known ‘Cannes Festival’, several stencil artists from around the world, including Eelus and Blek le Rat, were invited to paint their murals on the dreary walls at the Leake Street Tunnel complex.
The area, near Waterloo Station, was previously used by train operator Eurostar, who had abandoned the site once they moved their train operations over to Kings Cross St Pancras station.
Banksy was quoted in The Daily Telegraph as saying, “Graffiti doesn’t always spoil buildings, in fact it’s the only way to improve a lot of them. In the space of a few hours with a couple of hundred cans of paint I’m hoping we can transform a dark forgotten filth pit into an oasis of beautiful art.”
The event was held for three days and drew an audience of hundreds over the UK May Bank Holiday.
This offset lithograph was created to promote the show and sold in small quantities. It features a cowgirl seated on a spray can in a rodeo-style saddle.



