Banksy Visits Iraq : A Cultural Landscape

Banksy would never shy away from controversy and when you thought visiting a war-torn environment was perhaps one step too far for the charismatic mystery-man, three of his latest interventions proves otherwise. Known globally for his street-art, the Bristolian individual (or perhaps a team of Bristolians, nobody knows!) visited Gaza, adding three new works amidst the heaps of rubble.

The first, a kneeling and arched-back man is seen holding his head in his hands, expressing a personal moment of disparity; the second, a guard tower of the local area mimicking a playground attraction, with children happily enjoying the Israeli's watchful eye; and the third, an oversized kitten complete with a pink bow expressing sadness with its paws laid amongst the rubble beneath itself. Perhaps you are slightly confused by the reasoning behind expressing a kitten within Iraq, Banksy writes, "...a local man came up and said "please - what does this mean?" I explained I wanted to highlight the destruction in Gaza by posting photos on my website - but on the internet people only look at pictures of kittens." Very clever, sir.

In addition to the three works that are set within an area that is so disconnected from the outside world (its actually a wonder how Banksy entered), a mini tourist-documentary was captured and shared to his followers. Via this carefully crafted advertisement for the Palestinian region, Banksy captures the community, his work, and their reaction.

As Banksy describes, "Gaza is often described as "the world's largest open air prison" because no-one is allowed to enter or leave. but that seems a bit unfair to prisons - they don't have their electricity and drinking water cut off randomly almost every day." Discover more about the illustrious Banksy at Banksy.co.uk

Photography Credit : Banksy.co.uk