What name was given to Banksy's shredded artwork after it partially destroyed itself at auction?

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Love Is in the Bin was the name given to Banksy's artwork after Girl with Balloon partially shredded itself at auction.

In October 2018, a framed version of Girl with Balloon sold at Sotheby's in London. Immediately after the sale, a shredder hidden inside the frame began cutting the canvas into strips. The mechanism stopped before the entire work passed through, leaving the lower portion shredded and the upper section hanging below the frame.

The altered work was later titled Love Is in the Bin. Sotheby's said the event was the first artwork created during a live auction, though the exact status of that description has been debated.

The incident turned an already familiar Banksy image into a global story about the art market, ownership and the value assigned to damaged objects. In 2021, Love Is in the Bin sold at Sotheby's for £18.6 million, far above the earlier price.

Source: Wikipedia · fact-checked Sept. 2026

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