LONDON - Graffiti impresario Banksy and a host of airbrush-wielding guerrilla artists blanketed the walls of a disused south London tunnel with offbeat murals - part of a three-day stencil art street party due to open this weekend.

The subversive British tagger turned art-house sensation marshalled more than three dozen international artists for what he is calling the "Cans Festival" - and is encouraging visitors to contribute their own graffiti starting Saturday.

"I'm hoping we can transform a dark forgotten filth pit into an oasis of beautiful art - in a dark forgotten filth pit," Banksy was quoted as saying in the Times of London, which carried a preview of the exhibition Friday.

Festival spokeswoman Jo Brooks said Cans - a play on the famous French film extravaganza in Cannes - features at least one work from 40 international artists and collectives which sport names such as Bandit, Schhh, Pure Evil, and Orticancvoodles.

Among Banksy's pieces are security cameras growing from a tree, a hooded figure cutting itself with a knife, and a worker spraying over ancient cave drawings, Brooks said.

Other work includes an image of the pope pushing down his fluttering robes in an imitation of Marilyn Monroe by Norwegian artist Dolk, and even a doodle of London mayoral hopeful Boris Johnson by Dutch artist Hugo Kaagman.

Armed with aerosol cans and paint rollers, artists were still making last-minute touchups to the works on the walls of the damp archway tunnel Friday.

Unlike many of Banksy's previous stunts, some of which have aggressively sprayed-over the line between vandalism and art, the exhibition was approved and facilitated by Eurostar, which manages the site under its old train platform at Waterloo Station.

It's a sign of how far the Bristol-raised artist - who has refused to give his real name - has come since he began his graffiti career in the 1980s and 1990s, using spray paint and cardboard stencils to tag walls, bridges and street signs.

Most of his work had a wickedly ironic and strongly anti-authoritarian bent. (His tag of two uniformed policemen locked in a passionate kiss is a longtime favourite). Most of it also was quickly removed.

But although his identity has never been fully confirmed, critical success has made him something of an establishment figure. Banksy's work commands hundreds of thousands of pounds at auction, and Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie are counted among his fans.

The "Cans Festival" encourages visitors to contribute their own art to the exhibit. There are some rules, albeit firmly tongue-in-cheek.

"Painting outside the designated area may well result in prosecution," the festival's website warns.

The event, which is free, will be held in the artificially lit tunnel on Saturday through Monday.

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On the Net:

http://www.thecansfestival.com/

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