Banksy Work

Piper Chapman

Banksy is a graffiti artist born in Bristol, England. He started to become a popularly known artist in 1990 for his controversial and clever artworks. When Banksy first initially started his work he used to free hand most of his works, now stencils plays a big part in his career. His work differs in size and scale, depending on what building, street or place he is completing his work on.  Banksy's artworks are characterized by striking images, often combined with slogans; his work often engages political themes, sarcastic views on war, capitalism, hypocrisy and gluttony. Common subjects include animals such as rats and apes, policemen, members of the royal family and children. His identity has remained unknown but an image was taken in 2004 in Jamaica believed to be the infamous Banksy. Banksy’s artworks The Flower Thrower and There is Always Hope have both transformed the art of printmaking in drastic ways. Both these artworks and many more of Banksy’s pieces have drawn attention for their edgy themes and the boldness of their execution.

The Flower Thrower is a powerful piece of work. This work was completed in 2003. The subject in this work, appears to be involved in a riot, he wears a handkerchief and backwards cap and is ‘armed’ with a bouquet of flowers. The whole work is done in black and white, except the flowers, which are coloured with bright yellows, oranges and greens. The flowers being the only part of the artwork in colours tells the audience that this plays a key part in the work. The colours represent the peace and hope that the rioter is trying to bring, a riot is dark and brings sadness and devastation which is depicted through the black and white part of the work. The texture of the artwork is smooth. The tone of this work is pure in sections but also dim in a majority of the work. A riot or war is a place of destruction; the substitute of the flowers instead of a weapon sends the message to the viewers that we should “make love not war”. Flowers are used to send love to someone, the rioter hurling these flowers back and getting ready to throw them to the ‘enemy’ proves to the viewer that this subject is looking for peace. The subjective frame of the work is to make the audience feel a connection to the rioter. The audience should view the image as a message of love not war.  

Banksy’s art work There is Always Hope has changed the art of printmaking in exciting way. Banksy's original work depicts a young girl losing a heart-shaped balloon to the wind. There is also a small quote etched into the staircase that reads, "There is always hope." The girl is seen standing in front of a gust of wind in black and white, while her love heart balloon that has been blown out of her hand is painted in bright red. Once again Banksy’s use of black and white shows a dark side to what is happening, the little girl feels lonely, despair and scared. The balloon being in the shape of a love represents love, hope, innocence and childhood, the girl is reaching out for the balloon like the wind has snatched it from her hands.  The words and the balloon are on line with each other, this gives an indirect idea that the balloon and the message ‘There is Always Hope’ connects and shares the same meaning. The texture of the art work has is smooth with no 3D images. The tone in the artwork is dull but bright, the black and white creates a dullness and sadness where the colour brings joy.