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Banksy's (17) .......... spontaneous works first began (18) .......... up on the walls of Bristol before spreading to London and, in time, to cities across the globe. The pieces produced by this resolutely anonymous English artist have elevated him to a position of cultural pre-eminence, making him arguably the most (19) .......... after figure working in contemporary art today.
His name has become a (20) .......... word — instantly recognisable to those with little interest in the conventional art world and deeply admired by those at its centre. His works have transcended the gallery, speaking directly to passers-by before finding their way into the auction rooms of the world's leading houses, where they routinely command extraordinary sums.
His (21) .......... street art, executed with characteristic precision using a stencilling technique, functions as a form of social (22) .......... — a mode of visual critique that is simultaneously accessible and subversive. His pieces have appeared on walls, bridges and self-constructed installations across every inhabited continent.
His larger (23) .......... are regularly resold — sometimes, with considerable ingenuity, by removing entire sections of the walls on which they were executed. His work is at once commercially fashionable and (24) .......... acclaimed, occupying that rare position where popular appeal and critical respect converge without apparent contradiction.