Banksy’s Bad Crabs

Is graffiti art? Who knows? We’re a crab museum, not an art gallery.

What we do know is that Banksy’s work ‘Gamechanger’ sold for £16 million at auction. So what has the artist been doing with all this money? Lots of good deeds it seems.

However what he hasn’t been doing is studying crab anatomy. His recent ‘Spraycation’ to seaside towns has produced a variety of socially acceptable criminal damage. Of particular note was the work in Cromer, a town in North Norfolk, England famous for its crabs.

In the work a hermit crab holds a sign stating ‘luxury rentals only’, blocking the several hermit crabs without shells who are queuing up. The sentiment is a good one and naturally we do not support exclusionary money grabbing property development. Second home rental is a growing problem in seaside towns like Cromer and also in Margate (but more on that later), so good on you millionaire artist Banksy.

The first issue is that Cromer is not famous for hermit crabs, it is famous for the traditional industry of edible crab, Cancer pagurus, which is landed there.

The artwork also represents an anatomically inaccurate hermit crab which lacks an abdomen of any sort. Hermit crabs are anomuran crabs, the sister grouping of ‘true-crabs’ Brachyura.

While most species of anomura are called crabs, some are called lobsters. Over half of species of anomura are considered hermit crabs, and live in empty shells (or Coca-cola cans).

Often the abdomen of anomura extends out behind them asymmetrically and lacks the hard exoskeleton of ‘true-crabs’ - which is why they need shells to protect themselves. This is not reflected in Banksy’s work.

Close, but no cigar Mr Banksy.

P.C: Sue Edwards