Shredded 'Girl with Balloon' to go on display in Germany

The famous Banksy artwork ‘Girl with Balloon’ - which became even more well-known after a shredding stunt during an auction in October - will go on display in the German city of Baden-Baden next month.

The Museum Frieder Burda announced on Tuesday that the now-half-shredded artwork would go on display in the museum from February 5 until March 3. Apart from the exhibition, the piece will be accompanied by a symposium that aims to discuss the value of art.

‘We expect a lot of interest, especially from young people and Banksy fans,’ said museum director Henning Schaper.

‘We're currently discussing ways in which we can make the artwork accessible to as many people as possible.’  The museum said it wants to ensure that the artist's goal of ‘democratizing art’ is reached with its exhibition.

 On October 5, seconds after the hammer fell with a winning bid of 1.04 million pounds (1.37 million dollars), part of ‘Girl with Balloon’ passed through a hidden shredder, much to the crowd's shock and dismay.

Sotheby's auction house said the buyer, identified only as ‘a female European collector and a long-standing client,’ decided to continue with the purchase at the original price.

After the auction, Banksy posted a video showing how he had secretly built a shredder into the outsized gilt frame of the picture.

He revealed that he had intended the stunt as a critique of the art market and the exchange of millions of dollars on the art scene.

However, the critique backfired as Sotheby's hailed the piece as ‘the first artwork in history to be created live at an auction.’  The artwork has since been renamed ‘Love is in the Bin,’ and certificated by Pest Control, a company run by Banksy, who keeps his identity secret, according to Sotheby's.