Banksy

Coming to prominence in the 1990’s as a street artist, British-born Banksy has become a global phenomenon transcending his anonymous identity. Using dark humour and art historical acumen to elevate the proletarian and challenge the elite, he is regarded as one of the most prolific creators of the twenty-first century - tackling every complex issue from globalisation, exploitation, police brutality, mass media’s normalisation of violence, and consumerist saturation to Brexit, the global refugee crisis and the Israel and Palestine conflict. He is celebrated for pushing the boundaries with his street art interventions, marked by rebellious stunts and bold playfulness. The artist visualises imperative but challenging discourses in an aesthetic vocabulary that uncovers the disquieting truths of global political landscapes and popular culture.

Banksy’s stencilled work have appeared everywhere - from the streets of Gaza and the West Bank wall, Prison buildings to the Sunset Strip, London’s Southbank and the Louvre. He has reinterpreted masterpieces such as Leonardo Da Vinci, Edward Hopper, Claude Monet and Van Gogh in a way that satirically comments on the environment, the capitalist landscape of contemporaneity as well as the art establishment.

Most recently he gifted a work to a Southampton hospital to thank the NHS for the help during the on-going pandemic, which sold at auction for a staggering amount of $23,114,000. Being a chronicler of his time and fuelled by arresting humanitarianism, his practice is routed in his belief that art should be for everyone, and that when dispersed freely around the world has the potential to create small ripples that lead to big waves of change.