Partially-shredded Banksy back under the hammer at Sotheby's

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A gallery employee poses for photographers next to a painting entitled "Love is in the Bin" by anonymous British street artist Banksy at Sotheby"s auction house in London, Britain 03 September 2021.Image source, EPA
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Banksy's Girl With Balloon "self-destructed" after it was sold at auction and was re-named Love Is In The Bin

A Banksy painting that partially shredded itself after being sold at auction is going back under the hammer.

The Bristol street artist stunned the art world when his Girl With Balloon "self-destructed" in London in 2018, immediately after the conclusion of the auction.

A collector had the top bid at £1.1m.

The painting, re-titled Love Is In The Bin, will now appear at a Sotheby's auction in October with an estimated price of between £4m and £6m.

The canvas was passed through a secret shredder hidden in the large Victorian-style frame, leaving the bottom half in tatters and only a solitary red balloon left on a white background in the frame.

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The anonymous artist uploaded a video of the destruction onto Instagram but soon deleted the post

Girl With Balloon was originally stencilled on a wall in east London and has been endlessly reproduced, becoming one of Banksy's best-known images.

In 2017, Girl With Balloon was voted the nation's favourite artwork.

Banksy rose to prominence through a series of graffiti pieces that appeared on buildings across the country, marked by their satirical themes.

The self-destruction was the latest in a long history of anti-establishment statements by the mysterious street artist.

One of the most famous was the 2015 opening of Dismaland, a Disneyland-esque attraction at a lido in Weston-super-Mare, which he described as a "family theme park unsuitable for children".

His most recent series of murals, in Norfolk and Suffolk, was during the artist's "spraycation" earlier in the summer.

Love Is In The Bin will be offered at auction on 14 October.

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