Bizarre Pet Store Opens in New York

NOTCOT: Banksy's Village Petstore & Charcoal Grill from Jean Aw on Vimeo.

Spraying out politically-savvy and eye-catching graffiti art at its best, British artist Banksy has now quietly opened up a new exhibition – disguised as a pet store – at 89 Seventh Avenue South (near Bleecker Street) in Greenwich Village.

Banksy’s “Village Pet Store and Charcoal Grill” is his first exhibition in New York and his first foray into the amazingly life-like realm of animatronics. But it’s more than that, as you can see from Seth Brau’s high-defintion video commissioned by NOTCOT: little chicken baby nuggets dipping themselves in barbecue sauce? Swimming fish sticks? Squirming bologna? There’s a subtle twist here that is both artful and provocative – it’s an imaginatively wry comment on “our relationship with animals and the ethics and sustainability of factory farming.”

The show runs until October 31.

Village Pet Store and Charcoal Grill via NOTCOT