Sunday, August 15, 2021

Banksy admits British seaside 'spraycation'

Issued on: 14/08/2021 - 
Banksy's trademark rat reclines in style on a British seaside beach
 JUSTIN TALLIS AFP

London (AFP)

Banksy, Britain's most famous street artist, on Friday confirmed what many had already suspected -- that he is indeed the author of a number of works that have appeared recently in British seaside towns.

An Instagram video clip, just over three minutes long and entitled "A Great British Spraycation", shows the elusive artist taking a summer road trip in a beat-up camper van with cans of spray paint stashed in a cooler.

In one work on the concrete sea-defence wall of a British beach, a rat lounges in a deckchair, sipping a cocktail.

Banksy's latest creations play on familiar memes of a faded seaside holiday tradition JUSTIN TALLIS AFP

In another, sticking to the seaside theme, a mechanical claw dangles above a public bench -- as if anyone who sits there is about to be plucked up like a prize in an arcade game.

Another shows a giant seagull swooping down to snatch some outsized chips -- French fries to US readers -- from a waste skip or dumpster.

A seagull swoops down on some outsized chips in a waste skip -- both common sights in modern day Britain JUSTIN TALLIS AFP

A fourth shows three children in a rickety boat. One looks ahead while another is busy bailing out water with a bucket.

Above them, appears the inscription: "We're all in the same boat."

On the roof of a bus shelter, a couple also dance to the tune of a flat-capped accordian player, in a black and white painting evoking the faded, down-at-heel feel of many of the country's once-prosperous seaside resorts.

Banksy ended speculation that artworks bearing his hallmarks which recently appeared in England are indeed his JUSTIN TALLIS AFP

In recent years, the Bristol artist, who cleverly maintains the mystery of his identity, has kept the attention of the contemporary art world with his social commentaries and causes -- migrants, opposition to Brexit, denunciation of Islamist radicals -- as well as stirring the excitement of the moneyed art markets.

Last March, a work honouring caregivers fetched a record 14.4 million pounds (about $20 million, 20 million euros).

You wait all year for a Banksy, and then a load of them come along at once... Banksy plays to fond folk memories of faded glory JUSTIN TALLIS AFP

The proceeds went to a hospital charity, Christie's auctioneers said at the time.


Banksy confirms series of artworks along England's east coast are his


By 9News Staff Aug 14, 2021


A series of artworks that have appeared along the east coast of England have been confirmed to be the work of mysterious street artist Banksy.
People have been flooding in from all around to see the pieces, which began appearing a week ago around the regions of Great Yarmouth, Gorleston and Cromer, Norfolk; and Lowestoft and Oulton Broad in Suffolk.
Although the works are undoubtedly painted in Banksy's trademark style, combining satirical street art, dark humour and graffiti using stencilling, they were not confirmed by the artist until yesterday via his official Instagram.

READ MORE: Is Banksy behind this prison-escape mural on the wall of a notorious British jail?


The first mural features a couple appearing to dance atop a bus shelter, accompanied by a man playing an accordion appears on Admiralty Road in Great Yarmouth.
READ MORE: Banksy encourages people to wear a mask through latest coronavirus-inspired work

Banksy has confirmed 10 pieces of street art that have appeared along the east coast of England are his. (Instagram)
The second features arcade-style toy-grabbing crane in Gorleston, and a child holding a crowbar in Lowestoft.

Another shows three children in a boat in front of the words "we're all in the same boat".
The famously secretive artist, who has never officially revealed himself to the public, is responsible for dozens of artworks on streets, walls, and bridges across England and throughout the world.

Earlier this year, an artwork depict
ing a prisoner's daring escape appeared on the wall of a British jail.

An artwork by Banksy depicting three children in a boat at Oulton Broad. (Instagram)

The mural shows a prison inmate making an escape from Reading Prison, a disused institution in southern England that once held the Irish poet Oscar Wilde.

In 2020, Banksy showed his support for the Black Lives Matter movement with a new piece of art and a stark message: "People of Colour are being failed by the system".

The work, also unveiled in an Instagram post, depicts how George Floyd's death shook the US and the word.

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