Banksy Back in the Spotlight

A couple of months ago a new urban mural appeared on a vacant lot in the Finsbury Park neighborhood, in north London, made by Banksy, which has once again brought one of the most outspoken and mysterious artists of the current scene back into the spotlight; he has claimed authorship through Instagram.

Dorothy reaching for the shoes in the artwork (Jacob King/PA Wire)

A couple of months ago a new urban mural appeared on a vacant lot in the Finsbury Park neighborhood, in north London made by Banksy, which has once again brought one of the most outspoken and mysterious artists of the current scene back into the spotlight; he has claimed authorship through Instagram. In this case a dying tree, a pruned cherry tree, has recovered all its splendor with a leafy green crown thanks to his nocturnal intervention, with premeditation and malice aforethought. And only a few days ago another appeared in Birmingham. The painting shows Dorothy from The Wizard of Oz trying to reach a pair of red shoes hanging from an electric cable. All the English media echo this new appearance bearing the artist’s seal, waiting to confirm his authorship. And recently another in Somerset.

With these new urban art interventions the political debate opens up. Banksy has already managed to light the fuse of other people’s consciences, creating all kinds of interpretive speculation. Banksy uses his art as a weapon that detonates in the minds of society, creating a public forum. The criticism conveyed through his written messages and striking images produces the expected effect: “I like to think I have the guts to stand up anonymously in a Western democracy and call for things no-one else believes in – like peace and justice and freedom” he says in his book “Wall and Piece”. 

Street Art or Urban Art is an art form that has its origins in the 1960s. This street art has the purpose of communicating with society through a sociopolitical visual message with a cultural intention. And where play comes in. In ’68 art leaves the museums and institutions and makes a leap into the everyday environments of the street. From the white cube to the public space. The work of art, its genres and the institutions were called into question, in order to place the emphasis on nature and the body, reclaiming the street where community and the beauty of the everyday converge.

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