Contemporary
British street artist Banksy is one of most recognisable and much-loved artists of the past 20 years. His murals, which tend to pop up overnight in unlikely destinations, have appeared around the world, from
JERUSALEM to New Orleans,
Los Angeles to London. Satire, subversion and rats are common themes in his work, which has sold for millions of pounds. Despite his fame and notoriety, the true identity of the enigmatic artist remains a secret. While there are several theories regarding his identity, Banksy is widely regarded to be a middle-aged man from Bristol. “The art world is the biggest joke,” he said. “It’s a rest home of the overprivileged, the pretentious, and the weak.” But despite his antipathy towards the industry, it continues to serve him well. We take a look at some of his most famous works. Love Is In The Air or Flower Thrower Probably one of Banksy’s most famous works, this 2003 piece appeared on the separation wall built by Israel along the edge of and within the Occupied Palestinian Terriritory of the West Bank. It depicts a man wearing a bandana to cover his face and preparing to throw a bouquet of flowers in the pose that the viewer might expect him to throw a rock, a grenade or a Molotov cocktail. The piece is interpreted as a call for peace and has been widely replicated. Kissing Coppers Kissing Coppers shows two British policemen kissing. It appeared on the wall of The Prince Albert pub in Brighton in 2004, a part of the
UK with a sizeable LGBTQ+ community. Interpretations vary as to the meaning behind the piece, with some arguing the stencil aims to celebrate gay people, while others feel it is a criticism of the hypocrisy of a
police force that many argue is institutionally homophobic and transphobic. Sadly, the mural suffered repeated vandalism, prompting the owners of the pub to remove it and replace it with a replica in 2008. The original was sold by the owner of the pub for $575,000 in February 2014. Snorting Policeman Snorting Policeman was stencilled on an East
London toilet block in 2005. It shows a policeman on his hands and knees, but rather than forensically searching for clues, he is snorting a line of cocaine. The piece is interpreted by some as a criticism of police corruption. After being jetwashed, painted over and attacked by thieves, the piece was removed and transported to Cumbria where it was painstakingly restored and returned to its original home in 2017. Girl With Balloon Girl With Balloon shows a young girl with her arm outstretched as a heart-shaped red balloon floats skywards and out of reach. To her right, the words “there is always hope” are printed. The mural appeared on London’s Waterloo Bridge in 2002 and was later removed by the council. The balloon is seen as representing both freedom and childhood, with the girl’s outstretched hand symbolising hope for many fans. Napalm Girl Created in 2004, Napalm Girl features a reproduction of an iconic photograph taken of a young girl during napalm bombing in Vietnam. In Banksy’s version, the girl’s hands are held by Mickey Mouse and Ronald McDonald respectively. As well as being a comment on the horrors of war (the US invasion of
Iraq happened the previous year), the piece also features two smiling symbols of US culture, which some have interpreted as a critique of capitalism. The Mild, Mild West The Mild, Mild West is one of Banksy’s earliest public works. It shows a teddy bear throwing a Molotov cocktail at three riot police. Situated at 80 Stokes Croft in Bristol, it was painted in response to heavy-handed police responses to unlicensed raves and parties in the region around that time. Love Is In The Bin Banksy’s 2019 Love Is In the Bin work proved to be a highly controversial exercise in which he installed a painting of Girl With Balloon . After it sold at Sotheby’s for $1.3 million, it infamously “self-destructed” by dropping into a shredding device that destroyed half of the canvas in front of bemused art world insiders. The shredded remains of this piece went on to sell for a record £18.5 million at the auction house in 2021 . One Nation Under CCTV This giant mural appeared in Newman Street in London in 2007 on the wall of a building used by Royal Mail. It shows a child in a red hooded top painting the words “One Nation Under CCTV”, while being monitored by a police officer and a dog. The mural was also situated adjacent to a CCTV camera. As one of Banksy’s largest works, it’s still unclear how he was able to create such a large-scale mural behind a security fence and in front of a CCTV camera. In 2008, Westminster Council ordered the removal of the work on the grounds that it was an unlicensed commercial. Slave
Labour Released to coincide with the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee celebrations in 2012, this mural shows a child crouching on the ground sewing together Union Jack bunting. It was created in protest at the use of sweatshops and child labour to create Diamond Jubilee and London Olympics (which took place the same year) memorabilia. It originally appeared on the side of a Poundland shop in Wood Green, London, before mysteriously disappearing in 2013, only to reappear weeks later at an auction in Miami, where it was expected to sell for around £460,000.
protests from Haringey Council saw the piece withdrawn moments before it was due to go under the hammer and returned to the UK, where it was sold at auction for $1.2 million. Stop and Search (Girl and a Soldier) This 2007 piece by Banksy appeared on the West Wall of Bethlehem and can still be seen today. It shows a soldier wearing camouflage with his hands against the wall, while a young girl in a pink dress frisks him, a reversal of roles. Mobile Lovers Mobile Lovers shows two young lovers locked in an embrace while looking at their respective mobile phones. It appeared on a wall in Clement Street in Bristol in 2014 next to the Broad Plain Working With Young People Club. Read Next Yoko Ono -
music of the Mind is an artist taking back control After being removed by the youth charity out of fears of theft, Bristol Council ordered the police to remove the artwork, stating it was theirs, prompting Banksy to write to the youth club stating, “As far as I’m concerned, you can have it.” The artwork was then sold to a private collector for £403,000, with the funds going towards the running of the 120-year-old youth club. Well Hung Lover or Naked Man Hanging From Window Originally appearing on the side of a sexual health clinic in Bristol, Well Hung Lover shows a naked man clinging on to a window-ledge by his fingernails, after the woman who he is having an affair with can be seen near the open window, out of which we see what appears to be her angry partner. The piece has been vandalised several times, but can still be seen in the city’s Frogmore Street.