Cinderella’s Carriage installation by Banksy, Dismaland, Tropicana, Weston-super-Mare, England
Cinderella’s Carriage
Banksy · life-size installation of Cinderella’s overturned carriage surrounded by paparazzi, one of his ten pieces at Dismaland, August–September 2015 · inside the park’s castle, Tropicana, Weston-super-Mare
Photo: as published by Street Art Utopia, photographer not named
In August 2015 Banksy opened Dismaland, a run-down parody of a theme park, in the Tropicana, a disused lido in the English seaside town of Weston-super-Mare. Inside the park’s castle visitors found Cinderella’s carriage on its side, the white horses down, the princess hanging lifeless from the window, and a pack of paparazzi photographing her. The Art Newspaper and the Daily Beast read it as a Princess Diana-like scene. It was one of ten new works Banksy made for the show. Dismaland closed on 27 September 2015, and in October its building materials were taken to Calais for refugee shelters.
5 things to know
- A princess crashThe Daily Beast: “This life-size crime scene replica features Cinderella in place of Princess Diana”, and “her devastated carriage was driven by two white horses.” The Art Newspaper described “the maid turned princess as a tragic Princess Diana-like figure”. The Daily Beast · The Art Newspaper
- Visitors became the paparazziCartoon Brew: the crash “invites exhibit attendees to participate,” paparazzi-style, “by taking their own voyeuristic pictures.” Time noticed a smaller detail: the princess hangs from the window “with little sparrows attempting to lift her”. Cartoon Brew · Time
- Inside the castleBristol24/7, summing up Mark Hudson’s review in The Daily Telegraph, places the upturned pumpkin carriage in the park’s derelict castle. Bristol24/7
- One of tenThe Art Newspaper: the show “features ten pieces by Banksy”. Dismaland showed 58 artists of the 60 Banksy invited, and drew 150,000 visitors in five weeks, with tickets at £3. The Art Newspaper · Wikipedia
- From theme park to sheltersAfter the park closed, timber and other materials from it were cut up and used to build shelters in the Calais “Jungle” camp. Volunteers took them from Weston-super-Mare on 16 October 2015, NBC News reported on 24 October 2015. NBC News · Wikipedia
Check-in guide
- 📍
- Dismaland was built in the Tropicana, a disused lido in Weston-super-Mare, Somerset (Wikipedia); the carriage stood in the park’s derelict castle (Bristol24/7).
- 🚫
- There is nothing to visit: Dismaland closed on 27 September 2015 after 36 days (Wikipedia), and its materials were taken to Calais in October (NBC News).
- 🧭
- The Maps button shows the Tropicana site on the Weston-super-Mare seafront.
Sightings
- 201521 Aug
The Art Newspaper
- 201521 Aug
Daily Beast: Diana scene
- 201522 Aug
Time: the diorama
- 201526 Aug
Critics on the castle
- 201527 Sep
Dismaland closes
- 201516 Oct
Materials go to Calais
Every stamp links to the dated source. Amber stamps are reports from the opening weeks of Dismaland in August 2015, by The Art Newspaper and the Daily Beast (21 August), Time (22 August) and a round-up of critics by Bristol24/7 (26 August). Red stamps mark the end: the park closed on 27 September 2015, and on 16 October its timber and other materials left Weston-super-Mare for Calais (the date of the move, given in an NBC News report published on 24 October 2015). We found no record of where the carriage, the horses and the photographer figures went after the park was dismantled, and no later showing of the piece.
On the record
Dismaland: where nightmares come true
“They include Cinderella’s overturned carriage (the maid turned princess as a tragic Princess Diana-like figure).”
From the paper’s first look at the ten Banksy pieces in the show.
Banksy’s Shocking Diana Death Scene: A Theme Park Full of Nightmares
“This life-size crime scene replica features Cinderella in place of Princess Diana”
By Nico Hines, reporting from Weston-super-Mare.
Banksy’s Dismaland: what the critics think
“It is Disney reimagined for the Princess Diana generation, as unpleasant to view as it is difficult to look away.”
Chris Green of The Independent, quoted in the round-up.
The facts
- Artist
- Banksy (The Art Newspaper, The Daily Beast, Cartoon Brew, Bristol24/7) Checked
- Name
- No official title found. The press called it “Cinderella’s overturned carriage” and the “Cinderella” crash scene (The Art Newspaper, Cartoon Brew) Unconfirmed
- Shows
- Cinderella’s overturned carriage with two white horses, the princess hanging from the window, lit by the flashes of a pack of paparazzi (The Art Newspaper, The Daily Beast, Time) Checked
- Reading
- A Princess Diana-like scene (The Art Newspaper, The Daily Beast, Bristol24/7) Reported. Banksy did not explain it in the sources we found.
- Size
- Life-size, according to the Daily Beast (The Daily Beast) Reported
- Series
- One of ten new pieces Banksy made for Dismaland (The Art Newspaper, Wikipedia) Checked
- Shown
- Dismaland, which closed on 27 September 2015, after 36 days (Wikipedia, The Art Newspaper) Checked. The opening date differs: The Art Newspaper says it opened on 20 August 2015, Wikipedia says the weekend of 21 August 2015 (The Art Newspaper, Wikipedia) Conflicting. Neither source explains the difference, so we give both.
- Place
- In the castle of Dismaland (Bristol24/7) Reported, at the Tropicana, a disused lido in Weston-super-Mare, Somerset, England (Wikipedia) Checked
- Our photo
- The photo at the top is the one used in the Street Art Utopia post, first uploaded there on 21 August 2015. The post does not name the photographer. It shows the overturned carriage, the white horses and the paparazzi described by the sources above (The Art Newspaper, The Daily Beast) Checked
- Status
- Gone 2015: Dismaland closed on 27 September 2015, and its building materials were taken to Calais on 16 October 2015 (Wikipedia, NBC News) Checked. What happened to the installation itself is not known to us Unconfirmed
Related
- On Street Art Utopia: Fairy Tales Come to Life (7 Photos) (12 October 2026), and Inside Banksy’s Dismaland.
- Other Banksy works with a file: Piranhas, London and Seagull, Lowestoft.
- The whole show, its artists and its afterlife in Calais. Wikipedia: Dismaland
All sources (7)
This work
- The Art Newspaper: “Dismaland: where nightmares come true”, 21 August 2015. Ten pieces by Banksy, including Cinderella’s overturned carriage as a Diana-like figure, lit by paparazzi flashes; open until 27 September.
- The Daily Beast: “Banksy’s Shocking Diana Death Scene: A Theme Park Full of Nightmares”, by Nico Hines, 21 August 2015. Life-size replica with Cinderella in place of Diana; two white horses; paparazzi.
- Cartoon Brew: “Look Inside Dismaland, Banksy’s Bleak New Theme Park”, by Scott Thill, 21 August 2015. Banksy’s “horrific crash of Cinderella’s pumpkin carriage” invites visitors to take “their own voyeuristic pictures”.
- Time: “Enter Dismaland”, by Tara John, Weston-super-Mare, 22 August 2015. “There is no happy ending for Cinderella in this diorama”; overturned carriage; paparazzi.
- Bristol24/7: “Banksy’s Dismaland: what the critics think”, 26 August 2015. Bristol24/7, summing up Mark Hudson’s Telegraph review, places the carriage in the derelict castle; Chris Green (Independent) on the Diana generation.
The park and its end
- Wikipedia: Dismaland. Tropicana, disused lido; opened the weekend of 21 August 2015, closed 27 September 2015 after 36 days; 58 artists; 150,000 visitors; £3 tickets; materials reused in Calais.
- NBC News: “Banksy ‘Dismaland’ Exhibition Houses Migrants in Calais ‘Jungle’”. Published 24 October 2015. Timber and other materials cut up for shelters; taken from Weston-super-Mare on 16 October 2015.
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