The Banksy Phenomenon

Discussing various works of Banksy

Banksy’s work

 Arguably the most controversial street artist in the world, Banksy’s works have become a
subculture in their own right.
 Banksy’s political statements and disruptive vision have impacted cities across the globe
at vital moments in modern history, provoking alternative viewpoints and encouraging
revolution in the art world.
 His identity remains unknown, even after more than 30 years of involvement in the global
graffiti scene.
 He has worked in many street art mediums and in many styles, breaking down the
boundaries and expectations of street art critics.
 His work includes powerful, often controversial images, encouraging the rapid spread of
his name and work across the internet. Today, his iconic works have been re-shared and
repurposed beyond measure.
Who is Banksy?

 Who is Banksy? The identity of the mysterious British street artist has been a closely guarded
secret ever since the snarky stencilist emerged on the scene.
 Over the years several different people have attempted to “unmask” Banksy, an obsession that
seems to have gripped the world. Only last week, a new sighting popped up in Australia.
Theories surrounding his identity range from the plausible to the downright absurd.
 There are 10 theories that aim to expose Banksy’s identity. Who is Banksy? The identity of the
mysterious British street artist has been a closely guarded secret ever since the snarky
stencilist emerged on the scene.
 Over the years several different people have attempted to “unmask” Banksy, an obsession that
seems to have gripped the world. Only last week, a new sighting popped up in Australia. Theories
surrounding his identity range from the plausible to the downright absurd. We enlisted curator and
street art expert Carlo McCormick to rank 10 theories on Banksy’s identity based on their
plausibility.
Banksy: Man, Myth, Legend?

 In October 2014, an American news

website claimed that a 35-year-old man
named Paul Horner from Liverpool was
identified as Banksy after he was tracked
down by an Anti-Graffiti Task Force and
arrested for vandalism, conspiracy,
racketeering, and counterfeiting.
 Banksy’s publicist Jo Brooks later
denied that the artist had been arrested
and confirmed that the source article was
a hoax published by a satire website.
Richard Pfeiffer

 In March 2015, 33-year-old Brooklyn

artist Richard Pfeiffer was arrested for
purportedly painting graffiti actually done
by Banksy. Pfeiffer and his fiancé were
admiring a street artwork in Manhattan’s
East Village when police showed up and
accused him of drawing the image.
 Pfeiffer—who was found in possession of
a pen—was able to prove that the tip
didn’t match the style of the piece cops
claim he drew. The charges were dropped
six months later.
 0% chances of being Banksy
A Woman

 In the HBO documentary Banksy Does

New York, the Canadian media artist
Chris Healey claimed that Banksy is in
fact a team of seven artists led by a
woman. He maintains that the leader is a
blonde woman who appears in scenes
depicting Banksy’s alleged studio in the
documentary Exit Through the Gift
Shop (2010). The theory remains
plausible only insofar as it hasn’t been
disproved.
 50% plausible
Parking Attendant at Dismaland

 Reports in the British media claimed that

Banksy was hiding in plain sight on the
site of his satirical amusement park
project “Dismaland” which he constructed
in the resort town of Weston-Super-Mare
in 2015.
 Banksy fans reportedly recognized Robin
Gunningham, a man touted to be the
mysterious guerrilla artist from a
photograph purported to be Banksy
published by the Daily Mail in 2008.
However it turned out that the parking
attendant was in fact an employee of the
local municipality.
Robin Banks

 In January 2015 a British teenager

claimed that a man introducing himself
as Robin Banks gave him a print signed
by Banksy on a train in Oxenholme,
England after the young man helped the
artist pick up paints that fell out of his
carry-on bag.
 Banksy reportedly told the boy that the
picture was worth ca. £20,000 ($24,000).
Mr. Brainwash

 Some say that the clownish French artist who

starred in Banksy’s documentary Exit Though
the Gift Shop is in fact one and the same as
Banksy even though Mr Brainwash is widely
derided by art experts as a pretty terrible artist.
 It goes to show how damn ignorant most fans of
street art are that there could ever be any
confusion made between the blundering
stupidity of Mr. Braindead and the savvy
radicalisms of Banksy.
 Simply put Thierry is a rich kid who could
provide artists like Banksy [with] access to
prime properties in LA so that some of the more
daring conquests could have been given
permission
Robert Del Naja (Massive Attack)

 Journalist Craig Williams claimed to

have compelling evidence that Robert
Del Naja, frontman of the electronic
music band Massive Attack, is also
Banksy. Williams claimed to have
identified a correlation between cities
where Massive Attack performed and
where murals by the artist have turned
up.
 Del Naja swiftly denied the reports
saying that the rumors were “greatly
exaggerated.”
 5% chance
Robert Gunningham

 Criminologists at London’s Queen Mary

University used a technique called geographic
profiling to identify the street artist as Bristol
resident Robin Gunningham.
 Geographic profiling is a sophisticated
statistical analysis technique used in
criminology to locate repeat offenders. The
researchers looked for a correlation between
140 artworks in London and Bristol attributed
to Banksy, and 10 commonly touted names
purported to be the elusive street artist.

75% chance
What’s the Banksy Hype About?

 We may never find out the true identification  anti-fascism

of Banksy.
 However, we do know the type of person he
is.
 How?
 Banksy, like every human, has viewpoints.
 Rather than verbally communicating those,
he constructs them in his art.
 If you were to examine his graffiti works,
paintings, sculptures, etc, you would realize
Banksy has common political and social
themes:
anti-capitalism
 anti-imperialism
 anti-war
 anarchism
 existentialism
 anti-authoritarianism
 You would also realize the characters in his pieces
depict poverty, despair, hypocrisy, greed, and
boredom.
Banksy also tends to take a well known painting,
or quote, or image, and alter it, changing the
meaning of the art 180 degrees (a great example
of that is the documentary Exit Through The Gift
Shop).
Don’t Follow Your Dreams

 Bansky used a stencil to create a clear picture of

a lower-middle class or low class grunt worker.
 The man is clearly an older man. His clothing
hearkens back to the depression era.
 Through this image Bansky is drawing parallels
between the current economic crisis and the
depression; he is pointing out the severity of
current the political and economic environment.
 The man from the depression era is the one that
posted the cancel sign over the dreams. Though
he is only the messenger, the use of him to
deliver the message is poignant because he does
not appear to be living his dreams and now he is
working to cancel others, perhaps just to
survive.
Don’t Follow Your Dreams

 He is not happy, rather he is resigned and doing what is expected of him, he doesn't seem be able to live
out the American Dream.
 Through the man, Banksy is representing us, the American public; we are not following our dreams
because we can't follow our dreams.
 Follow Your Dreams" is a popular axiom calling people to action and alluding to the American Dream.
 For one to be able to follow a dream, freedom is required. Here the dream is being canceled. Cancel is a
seeming innocuous word; however, the terms used in connection to cancel and to define cancel are
violent, forceful, and restrictive.
 Abolish, delete, destroy, confine, erase, deface, obliterate, and invalid are connected to cancel as a verb
and as a noun cancel can mean prison bars, limits, or bounds.
 The forceful nature of the word limits dreams. The idea of an American Dream no longer exists
according to Banksy.
 It has been forcefully abolished, erased, and destroyed and as such Americans are confined to a world in
which they only believe themselves to be free.
Don’t Follow Your Dreams

 Banksy white washes the wall and then uses gray scale in most of the piece. The man in the painting is
gray and the words follow your dreams are gray.
 Against the white background these figures stand out but the use of gray mutes them. In contrast, he uses
a bright, vibrant red for the canceled sign, setting it in stark contrast to the gray "follow your dreams" and
worker.
 It is the only color that Bansky chooses to use. Red is a strong color that implies power, violence, force,
etc. When used in connection with the violent undertones of cancel presents a very forceful message that
dreams were not just canceled but taken away from Americans.
 War was fought on that ground for the freedoms and ideals that America is founded on. The American
Dream grew from these ideals and immigrants flocked from around the world to participate in this dream.
 Chinatowns or like communities, like the one in Boston, became gathering places for these immigrants
where they can live with like minded people while they figured out how to live their version of the
American Dream. The choice to place this message in the last Chinatown in New England draws on the
history of the place to add weight to the message being sent
 The world has changed and it isn’t always possible to follow your dreams.
Spy Booth Mural

 In April 2014, a new mural appeared surrounding a

telephone box in Cheltenham, fairly close to GCHQ,
the UK’s surveillance agency.
 Ironically, it depicted three trench coat-clad
detectives eavesdropping by holding listening
devices against the telephone box.
 The work conveniently appeared following the news
of the NSA scandal involving information gathering
leaked by Edward Snowden.
 It looked like something Banksy would do - and it
was. Beginning of June of last year, the artist
confirmed the work was his, which shed a whole
new light on the piece.
 It has been removed and vandalized several times.
 The piece has been seen as a critique of the global
surveillance disclosures of 2013.
George Floyd Tribute

 First uploaded on Banksy’s instagram.

 Banksy published a new artwork online which
depicts the United States flag being set alight by
a candle that forms part of a memorial to an
anonymous, black, silhouetted figure.
 The artwork appeared as thousands of people
gathered in London and other cities around the
world to protest the May 25 killing of George
Floyd in Minneapolis, where a white police
officer detaining him knelt on his neck for
nearly nine minutes.
 “People of colour are being failed by the system.
The white system,” Banksy wrote in a short
statement that accompanied the image on the
social media platform Instagram.
George Floyd Tribute

 Banksy likened racism to a broken pipe

flooding a downstairs apartment, and
said the downstairs occupants would be
entitled to break into the apartment
upstairs to fix the problem.
 “This is a white problem. And if white
people don’t fix it, someone will have to
come upstairs and kick the door in,”
Banksy wrote alongside the image.
Suicide Girl (Learn to Talk About It)

 This artwork has been created as a

metaphor and allegory in modern art. The
theme of this graffiti piece is despair as well
as anarchism.
 The purpose of his work is to inform the
public of his opinions and thoughts about
society.
 He creates his work in public areas so that
he can easily inform the public and spread
his message. ”Suicide Girl” focuses on
freedom from the government and society.
 The butterflies symbolize the freedom from
the government as they are flying away.
Suicide Girl

 Banksy believes that people are owned by the government and the government has restrictions and laws
on its citizens and people therefore confining them to do and believe in only certain things and values.
 The gun acts as a transporter and escape weapon to a place which is happy and free, away from the
restrictions and chaining of the government.
 If we look closely, we can see the initially next to the head of the girl, there is a splash of red paint
which symbolizes blood then turning into butterflies along the way.
 These butterflies represent freedom after death and how committing suicide is the only way to escape the
limitations that society creates for people.
 He uses the medium of graffiti to help express his thoughts and opinions of the role of the government on
people. Not only does the graffiti piece send out a message to the public but also acts as a medium of
decorating and adding some colour to the plain walls around the city.
 Banksy has used a young girl to be committing suicide because in today’s day and age, it is evident that
the most pressure and societal threats fall on the young girls. We also see that he has made the girl
wearing a skirt, which can also signify that women and girls are shown as vulnerable characters in
society just because of the clothes that they choose to wear.
Suicide Girl

 Banksy’s social statements are very pertinent to the suicidal culture of the UK and essentially
showcases different issues of today, therefore highlighting the cultural importance of his
artwork. The girl committing suicide highlights a certain theme of the influence of societal
culture on an individual.
 We can see slight rhythm that is created with the movement of butterflies. This has been
created through perspective. The butterflies become bigger and therefore create a sense of
movement in the artwork
 The butterflies could also act as a motif which is being repeated. The splatters at the beginning
of the butterfly trail also creates some movement and adds to the entire mood of the work.
 he entire piece has been created in extreme simplicity and does not show any kind of detail.
For example, only the outfit of the girl tells the audience the gender of the person who is
holding the gun.
Valentine’s

 Banksy has given a Valentine's Day gift to his home

town of Bristol in western England with the
appearance of a new mural showing a small girl with
a catapult and a splatter of red flowers.
 The graffiti shows a young girl in a headscarf,
stenciled onto the side of a house in the Barton Hill
area of Bristol with black and white paint.
 She holds a catapult in one hand with the other hand
behind her, as though she has just launched a
projectile.
 At the end of the catapult's trajectory is a bright red
shape like a blood splatter, made of red plastic leaves
and flowers.
 Banksy's street art often draws attention to social
issues by adding elements of darkness to otherwise
joyful scenes.
Valentine’s
 The graffiti is located on the side of the house and depicts a young girl, hood up, firing a cascade of
red flowers, which look like a bursting firework, with a catapult, into the air. ‘Talk’ about the artwork
thus far, has oriented around ‘themes of innocence and violence,’ likening the little girl to ‘Cupid’,
and even stating that Banksy is obviously a ‘romantic at heart.’ But these analogies are far from the
point which Banksy is clearly trying to make.
 The protagonist is a little girl, who represents the youth of today. She is using a rudimentary weapon,
which symbolises her angst and her ability to fight back with distinct accuracy, given only the basic
resources available to her at the time.
 She looks confident in her ability to aim and adopts an almost ‘ballerina-like’ pose, denoting the
fluidity of the action; second nature.
 The red flowers cascading, which I am learned are composed of roses and ivy, represent love, and yet
spread danger and alarm.
 The ‘firework-like’ shower is analogous to her setting off a flare, warning everyone of imminent
danger, whilst simultaneously, conversely, depicting the spread of love and on the contrary, blood with
respect to the former, throughout the World. The fact that it has appeared on Valentine’s Day has
amplified its poignancy
 The sheer fragility of the piece is synonymous with the backdrop of time and the environment,
especially considering the Extinction Rebellion movement which was gathering momentum until the
recent shift to the right in UK Politics further consolidated by the recent election result, and Brexit. In
What are you looking at?

 A lot of Banksy's work is political and reflects

modern culture. This piece of a CCTV camera
looking at the words "What are you looking at?" is a
clear mockery of the surveillance culture that the
United Kingdom enforces nowadays.
 The amount of CCTV camera's in the UK is reaching
staggering levels and in Banksy's silent protest of art
he not only tells the Government how he feels, but
will also let the public know his feelings too.
 The words have been stencilled on using spray paint,
a technique that is often used by Banksy to rely his
idea's and beliefs to the country
 Often with works by Banksy they are removed after
a while by local councils, but some let him keep his
art up because that is how they see it, as art.
Banksy’s Mystique

 Banksy has always stood out for his art

and daring endeavors.
 The fact that he has never felt the need
to break his anonymity makes his work
even more coveted.
 Only 1 Banksy artwork ever made it to
auction- Love in the Bin.
 This was it’s fate
 https://
www.theverge.com/2018/10/7/17947744
/banksy-ballon-girl-artwork-self-destruct
ed-sothbys
References for Banksy’s BOW

 https://www.theartstory.org/artist/banksy
/
 https://
www.lifehack.org/articles/communicatio
n/15-life-lessons-from-banksy-street-art-
that-will-leave-you-lost-for-words.html
 https://www.bluehorizonprints.com.au/bl
og/themes-banksys-work
/
 https://www.streetartbio.com/artists/
banksy/
In-Class Assignment

 Create a concept for a mural that

mirror’s Banksy’s ideology. Explain the
visuals, theme, and the concept behind
it.
 Q.2 Which Banksy work do you feel is
most impactful? Explain why.
 300-350 words.