One Nation Under "Banksy"

Banksy is an pseudonymous England based graffiti artist, political activist, film director and painter. His satirical street art and subversive epigrams combine irreverent dark humour with graffiti done in a distinctive stencilling technique. Such artistic works of political and social commentary have been featured on streets, walls, and bridges of cities throughout the world.

His work is currently seen around the planet. There are few in the art world (street or otherwise) who don’t know his signature style. The exception, though, is that no one is sure just who he is. There have been many claims to know his true identity but none have ever been definitive to date.

ATM attacking a girl, Rosebery Avenue, London, January 2008

The TESCO Kids
This street art appears in Essex road London depicting three little children, one is raising the plastic bag of Tesco to the top of the pole just like raising a flag. While the other two children stand slightly further away and putting their left hand on their chest with serious face looking at the plastic bag, as if they are showing respect to Tesco, the biggest shopping mart in UK.

A few tidbits of information are widely accepted: he is from Bristol, UK, and got involved in graffiti art sometime in the early 90s. He began to gain widespread notoriety around 2003. He was born in or around 1974 and sports a silver tooth. He is, according to the few people who have met him as Banksy, an unassuming and typical-looking man.

Naked Man image by Banksy, on the wall of a sexual health clinic in Park Street, Bristol. Following popular support, the City Council has decided it will be allowed to remain.

Graffiti depicting graffiti removal by Banksy. Created in May 2008 at Leake Street in London, painted over by August 2008. Notice the animals resembling cave art from Lascaux or Altamira.

His refusal to be interviewed in person or even to reveal his real name has added to his mystique over the years. In the UK (and, increasingly, in other parts of the world) Banksy-spotters claim to know the artist’s real identity on a fairly regular basis. Although he’s been caught on CCTV a few times, he is clever enough to keep his identity a mystery.

Banksy’s work is applauded by many, but some critics say that it oversimplifies issues to appeal to the masses. Other critics – most notably, representatives from Keep Britain Tidy – believe that Banksy’s street art is a crime and that he is setting a negative example for other would-be graffiti artists.

One Nation Under CCTV

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Through his talent and his dedication to art and his personal statements, Banksy has become perhaps the most famous anonymous artist ever. We still don’t know his true identity or where he will pop up next, but just mentioning his pseudonym brings a look of recognition to the faces of anyone who knows anything about art.

                                   

In April 2007, Transport for London painted over Banksy's iconic image of a scene from Quentin Tarantino's Pulp Fiction, featuring Samuel L. Jackson and John Travolta clutching bananas instead of guns. Although the image was very popular, Transport for London claimed that the "graffiti" created "a general atmosphere of neglect and social decay which in turn encourages crime" and their staff are "professional cleaners not professional art critics."

Banksy tagged the same site again and, initially, the actors were portrayed as holding real guns instead of bananas, but they were adorned with banana costumes. Some time later, Banksy made a tribute art piece over this second Pulp Fiction piece.

The tribute was for 19-year-old British graffiti artist Ozone who, along with fellow artist Wants, was hit by an underground train in Barking, East London on 12 January 2007. The piece was of an angel wearing a bullet-proof vest holding a skull (pictured below left). He also wrote a note on his website saying:

The last time I hit this spot I painted a crap picture of two men in banana costumes waving hand guns. A few weeks later a writer called Ozone completely dogged it and then wrote 'If it's better next time I'll leave it' in the bottom corner. When we lost Ozone we lost a fearless graffiti writer and as it turns out a pretty perceptive art critic. Ozone – rest in peace.

Stencil on the waterline of The Thekla, an entertainment boat in central Bristol . The image of Death is based on a 19th century etching illustrating the pestilence of The Great Stink.

Hitch-hiking to Anywhere

Love him or hate him, Banksy is without a doubt one of the most influential artists working today. He has affected the art world from Australia to the US and nearly everywhere in between. Over the next few weeks, we’ll take a closer look at Banksy’s work, his influence, and the grand mystery surrounding everything he does.

The mysterious Banksy is an entertaining and provocative feature of the modern art scene. His highly contemporary, politically pointed and generally well-executed graffiti -- often containing his signature rat -- are a vibrant, satirical contribution to debate and a great way to force us all to confront our own prejudices and cherished beliefs.

*There are so many more Banksy artworks that has kept me in awe, each having a specific meaning and purpose behind it. The ones in this post are some of my favorites. Hope you've enjoyed this article as much as I enjoyed writing it. :)