Biro + Banana = Art

What it is

Biro + Banana = Art is a gallery of bananas people have drawn on with a ballpoint pen. The premise, stated at the top of the page, is that banana skin is the perfect canvas for a ballpoint, and the evidence below runs to about a hundred and sixty photographs: sharks, faces, band logos, a canoe, an old phone, a sinking ship, a watch, a rotten one. Each has a caption from whoever drew it. There is an upload button for yours.

How to play

Scroll. The gallery is long, the captions are short, and the quality ranges from doodle to genuine draftsmanship. When you get to the bottom, get a banana and a pen, draw something, photograph it and press Upload banana. Submissions go to the site, not to an account. The page also carries share buttons and a row of the workshop's other toys.

What makes it different

It is a whole art movement built on one kitchen experiment, and the gallery is the proof and the invitation. Where user-submitted galleries are usually a mess, this one has a single rule and a single medium, which makes every entry comparable and the good ones stand out. The captions are half the work: a banana is only a banana until someone titles it.

Why it is on Bored

Scroll far enough and you will end up in the kitchen with a pen, which is the best outcome a gallery can have. It comes from the same British workshop as a good many of our other toys, and the hub is on Bored as its own link.

Tips

• Scroll to the end before you decide it is all doodles, the good ones are spread out
• Read the captions, half the art is in the title
• Photograph yours in good light before you upload
• Keep it simple, the best entries are one clear idea

FAQ