Banksy

“Applause”
Screenprint on watercolour paper
Ed. 216/500  2006-2007
Publishers blind stamp

A comment on the glamourised televisual nature of modern warfare.  Printed with lightfast inks on torn-edged, over-sized, watermarked art paper

Banksy, well known graffiti artist is said to be a native of Yate, South Gloucestershire.  He is often considered the invisible man of graffiti art.  His father was a photocopier and he is believed to be born in the year 1974.  He was trained to be a butcher but became involved in art, mainly graffiti, during the late 1980s.  Banksy art is very popular and is often satirical in nature.  His work was inspired from the Bristol underground scene, which involved a number of artists and musicians.

Banksy, when he started out, was a freehand graffiti artist.  The Banksy art was mostly inspired by local artists.  A lot of his work was a part of the Bristol underground scene.  The stencil was an essential element of his artwork right from the start.  He realized that it took much less time to finish a work of art when it involved stencilling and by the year 2000 he had mastered it. In fact it has been rumoured that when he started out as a graffiti artist, Banksy was too slow and could never finish his work on time.  He therefore devised a series of intricate stencils which helped him hasten the process.  Later it turned out that it was this which set his work apart from the rest.

Banksy art and Banksy graffiti has portrayed a wide range of subjects.  The theme of his work revolves around politics, culture, ethics etc.  His work often includes conspicuous and funny images occasionally combined with slogans.  His slogans remain cheeky yet intelligent.