Love him or hate him, few could deny that Banksy's month in New York - dubbed 'Better Out Than In' - has seriously captured the imagination of the public. His 'one piece a day' project managed 31 days straight of art and headlines - even if 'police activity' forced the cancellation of the 23rd of October's piece. Fans flocked to see the installations for themselves, while rival graffiti artists and opportunistic 'business people' rushed to destroy or profit from them (sometimes both).

A couple of unsuspecting customers even walked away with valuable original Banksy prints for a fraction of their price. Amateur videos emerged, the camera operators alleging to have finally spotted the intensely secretive artist in the act. One of his final pieces - a thrift store painting altered by Banksy and returned to the same shop - is being auctioned for charity, with bids already well past $300,000 with a couple of hours left to go.

With November mere hours away, Banksy has concluded his residency by unveiling his final Banksy NY piece (and a 'downloadable' souvenir t-shirt). In a tribute to the popular 'bubble fonts' beloved by taggers around the world, Banksy decided to tag one Queens building with his own nickname. The simple but effective twist? The letters were made of actual balloons, adding that extra layer to the recognisably '3D' font.

The balloon tag tops a month that has seen elaborate installations, outdoor art galleries, slaughter house trucks full of teddy bears, videos, statues and many of Banksy's popular stencil paintings. You can see them all on the Banksy NY website. For the night that's in it, though, perhaps his Grim Reaper bumper car is the most appropriate:

Image: Flickr / Wally Gobetz