The 13 most fantastic and controversial works of Banksy

Little or nothing is known about the mysterious Englishman Banksy. Some think that it is probably an artistic collective. The only thing that is known for sure is that the controversial works that appear around the world enchant or irritate passersby. That is, no one remains indifferent to this particular expression of urban or street art (street art).

Banksy's works can be found in places like England, France, Austria, Spain, the United States, Australia and even in the Gaza Strip.

The 13 works of Banksy that you should know

Ironic, controversial, sarcastic, rebellious and irreverent, Banksy's works were made in the street and for the street, and have the casual passerby as their audience. The fact that most of the pieces are in public spaces makes the work subject to the ravages of time and vandalism.

"Art must comfort the disturbed and disturb the comfortable."

Banksy

Let's discover the 13 most famous works of this genius of street culture:

1. Girl with Balloon

Created in 2002, in South Park (London), the wall shows a little girl who loses a ball in the shape of a heart. Next to the illustration of the girl, made in black and white, in which the detail of the heart in red stands out, there is a phrase: “There is always hope”. Done with the stencil technique, the Girl with Balloon work has been replicated several times and is one of Banksy's most recognized works.

2. Peaceful Hearts Doctor

Made in Chinatown, San Francisco (USA), this stencil, whose approximate translation could be “Doctor of Peaceful Hearts”, follows the same line of the work Girl with Balloon, since it uses the same colors with the same criteria: the doctor's black and white contrasts with the red of the peace and heart symbol that this examine.

3. Kissing coppers

One of Banksy's most controversial works is Kissing Coppers, made in Brighton, England. The image shows the love between two uniformed policemen who kiss openly. The work was repeatedly vandalized and recovered, until the owner of the bar where it was located decided to sell it. The value was not officially disclosed, but it is presumed to range from half a million to a million dollars.

4. Soldier Throwing Flowers

Banksy was in Palestine a few times and on each visit he left jobs scattered on the walls. It is believed that the artist's first stay may have been in August 2005, when he painted works on the border between Palestine and Israel. Soldier throwing flowers shows a subject in struggle with his face covered, who throws a bouquet of flowers instead of a war object.

5. Brexit

In a port that links the United Kingdom with France, in Dover, Banksy made a mural called Brexit with a great sense of humor. The scene is allusive to England's exit from the European Union. It represents a worker who, at the top of a long ladder of support, removes one of the stars from the flag of this community.

6. Shop until You Drop

It is a stencil made in London in 2011, arranged on the side of a huge building. Shop Until You Drop shows a woman who does her shopping and falls into the void. In addition to the woman losing a shoe, the items in the cart are scattered through the air. Banksy is known for his anti-capitalist position.

7. Guantanamo Bay Prisoner

Painted on May 18, 2007 in London's Exmouth Market, this stencil is reminiscent of prisoners in the North American jail of Guantánamo (in fact, its translation would be "Prisoner of Guantánamo"), but it was not the only action taken by Banksy in relation to theme.

On September 8, 2006, Banksy managed to get his assistant Thierry Guetta to put a doll Inflatable with the Guantanamo uniform inside the Rocky Mountain Railroad attraction, in Disneyland, Orlando.

8. Sweep it under the carpet

Made in Hoxton, East London, in 2007, the wall shows a housekeeper hiding dirt behind a fold of cloth, as if hiding it under the rug. This funny stencil, whose title we can translate as “Sweep under the carpet”, gives the impression that the wall is covered by a white cloth, similar to a curtain.

9. Toxic Rat

Banksy has painted a series of mice around the world. The one shown here, which we could also call “Toxic Mouse” in Spanish, was made in Camden, London. In addition to mice, the artist often paints monkeys.

Mice are often compared to the human species, as they multiply and spread everywhere. Perhaps the most iconic representation of these Banksy mice is that of anarchist mice.

10. Steve Jobs

This work was painted in Calais, in northern France, a region where a refugee camp is located. Banksy portrays the CEO of Apple. The stencil recalls that Steve Jobs was the son of Abdulfattah John Jandali, a Syrian immigrant from Homs. Even though this artist speaks very little in public, this case was one of the exceptions:

“Many times we are led to believe that migration depletes the resources of a country, but Steve Jobs was the son of a Syrian immigrant. Apple is the most profitable company in the world; it pays more than 7 billion dollars a year in taxes and it only exists because one day the young man from Homs was authorized to enter ”.

Banksy

11. Grosvenor

It is a work painted in October 2010 on the wall of the Grosvenor Hotel in London. The work takes advantage of part of the material that was already in place (an extractor fan) and is built in dialogue with that space.

12. Thinker

Arranged in Gaza, this piece is a reference to Rodin's classic sculpture The Thinker. The work was done in 2014, after the war.

This was not the first time that Banksy, concerned about the cause, was in this territory. In August 2005, the new images were made in Palestine, the most famous perhaps being the following image.

13. Stop and Search

This work, which we can translate as "Stop and Check", was painted in 2007 in Bethlehem, Palestine. Banksy's stencil proposes a role reversal: a girl puts a soldier against the wall and reviews him. It should be noted that this work is in a territory of permanent tension between Arabs and Jews.

Characteristics of Banksy's works

Even though Banksy's works may seem very different from each other, it is possible to identify some common lines or elements. The graffiti were made in public spaces, generally at dawn, without authorization from government entities.

In general, all the works are loaded with a strong political spirit, since they make social criticism and address current issues.

Banksy applies a number of different techniques, despite the fact that in most of his works he uses the stencil.

Who is Banksy? What is known about the identity of the artist?

Banksy is known for his works of urban or street art (street art) from a committed approach. To this day the identity of the artist is not known. The origin of him is hardly known: he was born in Yate, in Bristol, England. His works began to appear in 1993, and made reference to contemporary society with a strong revolutionary and anti-war perspective.

“The greatest crimes in the world are not committed by the people who break the rules, but by the people who follow them. It is the individuals who follow orders who drop the bombs and massacre villages ”.

Banksy

The works are installations or paintings made with the stencil technique, and often include phrases that complement them. The places or contexts in which the works are framed are essential to understand them.

Banksy is neither on Facebook nor on Twitter nor on any social network. Also, he is not featured in any gallery. Also, his works are never signed.

Some think Banksy's real name is Robin or Robert Banks, but this is just speculation. Other people suspect that the true identity of the artist is Robin Gunningham. There is one more hypothesis according to which Banksy may be Robert Del Naja, the lead singer of the electronic music group Massive Attack.

About the Barely Legal exhibition

Held in California in September 2006, Banksy's Barely Legal exhibition was free and gathered a huge following in an industrial warehouse.

The main attraction was a work called Elephant in the Room, alluding to the popular expression “an elephant in the living room”. The installation had a room and in it a 37-year-old painted elephant was exhibited.

Documentaries about Banksy's work

One of the biggest rivalries in the graffiti world has been between Robbo and Banksy. This rivalry was so important in the world of urban or street art that a documentary was made in tribute to the fight.

Perhaps the most famous film around the Banksy theme has been Exit through the Gift Shop (Exit through the gift shop). The protagonist of the story is Thierry Guetta, a guy whose hobby was to film the work of graffiti artists with the intention of creating a documentary. Guetta's fate completely changed when she met Banksy.

It may interest you Artistic movements of the 20th century

(Text translated by Andrea Imaginario).