Banksy: a short biography

One of the most controversial street artists in the world, Banksy, the anonymous street artist whose masterpieces revolve around the serious topics of governmental oppression and even the worst aspects of capitalism has proceeded to take the world by storm from a very young age, of 18 (from the 1990s) to be exact. He is best known for his distinctive yet very unique stenciling technique and striking images which commonly feature subjects such as rats, apes, policemen, members of the royal family, and children. His art is publicly displayed on visible surfaces and is well-known for his use of copyrighted material and subversion of classic images. He is also a film director and has even directed his first film ‘Exit Through the Gift Shop’.

It is said that when banksy was a child, he was expelled from school and took to the streets to paint on the walls. One of the people that heavily influenced him in his early days was a French graffiti artist called Blek le Rat. Not only did this artist inspire Banksy politically, but Banksy was also inspired by his use of stencils.

As we have mentioned Banksy began his graffiti art lifestyle by admiring the works of Blek Le Rat and often observing other artists’ graffiti work to give him ideas. He has been very active in the graffiti scene since the early 1990s. Initially, he partnered with a graffiti crew in Bristol by the name of DryBreadZ crew or DBZ. Soon after, he began to partner with Inkie, another remarkable graffiti street artist.

By the age of 18, Banksy began to experiment using stencils after nearly being caught vandalizing public spaces by police. As his crew fled from the scene, Banksy was stuck hiding beneath a garbage truck. It was at this time that Banksy saw stencil letters on the truck. Looking for a faster way to paint, Banksy decided stenciling would be his new graffiti type.

The most common form of street art Banksy uses are stencils. These are often in the form of multi-layered stencils and/or combined with other media sources, such as spray-paint. He also includes anything found in the streets like street signs and other objects to be able to convey his message in the best way possible by crafting beautiful street art installations. His artwork is often satirical and combines dark humor with graffiti and also spread messages across art, philosophy, and politics.

Kissing Coppers (2004)

This iconic image depicts two policemen (seemingly male) having a good old snog as they might say in the UK. Banksy drew this work of art in 2004 but a decade later it was sold for 575,00 Us dollars to an anonymous buyer in the USA.This piece of art was drawn on a pub wall in a seaside town called Brighton which is also commonly called England’s gay capital.

One of Banksy’s associates approached the pub owner on his behalf to seek permission for the work. The pub owner said “My first thought was, ‘oh no’. I thought we’d get in loads of trouble for it.” But to his sudden delight, after its creation, a group of uniformed officers drove to come in front of the pub to view the piece and take pictures.

However the image can be depicted out in many different unique ways, some say that Banksy is advocating for a sexual-identity accepting society by placing icons of two police men in a rather intimate kissing moment. While others believe that he is teasing the policemen, showing them in a vulnerable, intimate moment. While many describe the work more positively, as showing a human side to the police force, and emphasizing or rather symbolizing the strong bonds that exist in the police force between partners and teammates.

Mobile lovers (2014)

The picture depicts a random couple, in an intimate moment where they are about to seemingly kiss, but instead their faces are like glued to their phones, instead of each other’s faces. This work of art represents how many people care more about their smart phones instead of focusing on their real life relationships and developing them. We are so focused on seeing other people’s lives on our phones and liking them that we don’t have time to develop our own ones in real life.

Rage, the Flower Thrower (2005)

This work is now in jerusalem covered and protected by a Perspex overlay, depicts a man wearing all black with a bandana and a cap, his eyes seem mad clearly but instead of throwing a bomb or anything like that, he throws flowers at the people. Many people state that the meaning of this masterpiece is that s advocating peace instead of war, and he opted to install this message of peace in a high-conflict area.

Conclusion..

I personally think that Banksy is a good person, inside and out. He aspires to inform people about current world events.It really amazes me every time how He always succeeds in portraying positive messages about very deadly serious topics. No wonder why he is the most recognised street artist of this decade.