Banksy’s new theme park ‘Dismaland’ includes migrant boats and has fans flocking to Europe

Famed British street artist Banksy is most well-known in the Middle East for his political art that's appeared on the walls of the West Bank and Gaza. Now the man is aiming for a new kind of art — and while it's far more commercial, the statement is just as loud. 

Banksy fans may have already heard about Dismaland, the new British theme park that's made international headlines. The structure features a dead Disney princess, dilapidated castles and other disturbing landmarks that Banksy himself describes as "unsuitable for children."

"Dismaland is a grotesque parody of Disney". So its basically the side of every single ice cream van.

— Tom Neenan (@TNeenan) August 21, 2015

Lots of the theme park focus more on a distortion of Disneyworld's fantasy; graffiti on the wall states, "Life isn't always a fairytale" in trademark Disney font. Banksy, though, insisted the work is more about showcasing the artists and not an insult to The Walt Disney Co., according to The Guardian.

A stark contrast is a pond featuring overly crowded miniature migrant boats and dead bodies in the water. In control of the boats are the visitors, as the migrant faces are permanently turned toward the person steering them. 

A reporter from The Independent described the experience as "deeply unsettling." What Banksy's trying to say with the boats, though, is open to interpretation.

Ironically, the theme park has his fans from around the world flocking to Europe to get a glimpse of his largest work yet, which opened Thursday. The temporary art project located in Somerset, England offers only 4,000 tickets a day for 36 days. It has fans going crazy over the tickets, rushing to the website that many say is a practical joke.

I'm guessing the comedically terrible experience of trying to get tickets for #Dismaland is pretty much exactly what Banksy was going for.

— Stacy Bias (@fatfeistyfemme) August 21, 2015

If you can't get tickets #dismaland, don't forget the UK is full of disappointing theme parks

— Elliot Ross (@iamelliot) August 21, 2015

Trying to book tickets to #Dismaland like... pic.twitter.com/ham6ljfTjG

— F.TAPE (@ftape) August 21, 2015

Here's a video of the park:

By Hayat Norimine

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