Banksy’s Cinderella Carriage was one of the centrepieces of his 2015 Dismaland exhibition in Weston-super-Mare. The installation presents Cinderella’s pumpkin coach after a catastrophic crash, overturned and shattered, its white horses lifeless beside it. The scene is lit by the relentless flashes of paparazzi cameras, creating an eerie spectacle where visitors find themselves complicit in the voyeurism as they step into the role of onlookers.

The work operates on several levels: it satirises the glossy myth of the fairytale by exposing its darker, tragic underside, while also evoking the fatal 1997 car accident that killed Princess Diana, relentlessly pursued by the press. In Cinderella Carriage, the fantasy of childhood innocence collides with the brutal reality of media exploitation and tragedy. The installation exemplifies Banksy’s ability to transform a familiar cultural icon into a potent critique of celebrity culture, spectacle, and society’s fascination with disaster.