It all started back in 1990… He chose Bristol, England, as the playground for his work. It’s assumed he is from Bristol, nobody knows… what we do know is that he was different, evocative. Nobody knows his real name. Banksy is a pseudonymous street artist, political activist and film director. Or: he’s the Picasso of the 20th Century.
Everybody is crazy for Banksy. His fans as much as the police…
BANKSY once said “I like to think I have the guts to stand up anonymously in a western democracy and call for things no-one else believes in – like peace and justice and freedom.”
We don’t need to know his face to get a glimpse into his brilliant head, BANKSY*S anonymity is his superpower, it gives him the opportunity to speak freely and everyone else the chance to identify with someone who has no identity.
“Stop me before I paint again” shows a policeman in uniform holding a police dog on a leash and carrying a torch in his hand. He inspects the writing of the same sentence on a wall and looks for the person responsible for the graffiti. Once again in this work Banksy mocks the police forces who arrive on the scene too late. It implies a certain superiority of the street artists over the police, who are even challenged by the words “Stop me before I paint again”. So the artist behind the graftiti seems to have no fear of the police. Yet it is very important for Banksy and other street artists to remain anonymous and undetected in their art, as it is legally damage to property which can be punished with heavy fines and even imprisonment. “Some people become cops because they want to make the world a better place. Some people become vandals because they want to make the world a better-looking place.” – Banksy
He is and has been writing history ever since his first works popped up in the streets of Bristol in the late 90s, a history that we are all part of leading to a future that lays in our hands.
Some impressions from the current Banksy exhibition in Stuttgart.
“Love hurts”: The motif of the wounded heart balloon has also been used in other works. Banksy himself has stated that Love Hurts is “obviously an icon of the struggle to survive a broken heart. It’s an uplifting visual poem for the most fragile human emotions that seem to move within us as if on a gentle breeze.”This is Banksy!Think Outside The Box!“Kissing Coppers” is a Banksy stencil depicting two British police officers kissing. This work celebrates tolerance in a city that has been known for its gay-friendliness since the 1960s. Yet the public was not always so tolerant. Until 2000, says were still barred from serving in the British armed forces. The Civil Partnership Act, a law granting same-sex couples the same rights as heterosexual couples, was only introduced in 2004“Devolved Parliament”: The painting shows the debating chamber of the British House of Commons in a bitingly satirical way, but instead of debating MPs, the House of Commons is filled with chim-panzees. Although it was painted back in 2009, many commentators have drawn comparisons to current politics and the chaos in Parliament over Brexit.Religion Called Bombing“The Makeup”: Graffiti in the graffiti a black child covers with an adorable pink pattern a most well-known symbol: a Nazi swastika. It was found near a former first reception centre for migrants on the northern edge of the French capital Paris. The Image has since been sprayed over. Banksy had already criticised France for its treatment of refugees in an artwork in 2015. Near the “Jungle” camp in Calais, he left a motif showing Apple founder Steve Jobs – himself the son of Syrian immi-grants – with a bundle over his shoulder and a computer in his hand.“Pissing Guard” (also known as Queen’s Guard Pissing) is meant to illustrate the hypocrisy of the authorities and the British royals. The distinctive guards are most often seen outside Buckingham Palace. They are known for not being allowed to move while on duty. It is therefore most ironic to see a guard in this inelegant position – urinating on street corner.“Di-Faced” is a pun on the word “defaced” and refers to the fact that Banksy has altered the well-known £10 note by replacing the portrait of Queen Elizabeth I with that of the late Princess Diana. The work can be seen as a commentary on Diana’s estrangement from the royal family, her criticism of the British royal institution and the ensuing chivvy by the press. Instead of “Bank of England”, the note reads “Banksy of England* Under the banner it says: ” promise to pay the highest price to the bearer on demand”, an allusion to the fate of the late princess in the hands of the media. The back side of the print remains essentially unchanged, with the exception of the motto “Trust no one” that is written in the lower right-hand corner below the portrait of Charles Darwin.“Venice in Oil” takes on a double meaning here: the sign provides information about the subject and the material, and in addition it criticises the environmental pollution caused by shipping and tourism. Mass tourism in Venice has reached new dimensions in the last 15 years, especially due to cruise ships. More than 600 passenger ships call at the lagoon every year, flushing more than 1.5 million day-trippers into the city, making it an ecological disaster. In addition, the ships cause lasting damage to the lagoon’s foundation. Banksy’s statement to the action: “I am putting down my stand at the Venice Biennale. Despite being the biggest and most prestigious art event in the world, for some reason I was never invited”.Maybe the most Knie art work from Banksy: “Girl with Balloon”. The work shows a girl whose hair and dress are blowing in the wind and who is reaching for a red, heart-shaped balloon. The gesture and the red balloon convey a strong message that can be read in different ways. The meaning can be interpreted as the loss of innocence or the arrival of new hope and love. One of his framed prints from 2006 was up for auction. Moments after the painting sold for £860,000, the shredder secretly built into the frame triggered and destroyed the canvas. With this statement on the commercialisation of his work, Banksy made history in the art community. On 14 October 2021, the half-shredded “Girl with Balloon” changed hands with its new title “Love is in the Bin”. At the London auction house Sotheby’s, the work went under the hammer for 16 million pounds.
Stuttgart547 