The unknown artist with the pseudonym Banksy probably comes from Bristol, where the first graffiti by him was found. But only his birth name is unknown, because his time-critical works of art have made him one of the most famous artists of our era. His pictures live from the contrasts depicted and leave no one untouched. The exhibition The Mystery OF BANKSY "A GENIUS MIND" (currently in Cologne) shows around 150 works by the artist and elaborate installations allow viewers to immerse themselves directly in his social criticism.
For example, there is the sad Palestine poster from 2018. The poster says: "Visit historic Palestine - the Israeli army likes it so much that it never disappeared." What did Banksy draw our attention to in 2018? During the Six-Day War in 1967, Israel captured and occupied East Jerusalem, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. Thirteen years later, East Jerusalem was annexed by Israel in violation of international law. The Israeli military withdrew from the Gaza Strip in 2005, but Israel continues to occupy the West Bank and has been building more and more settlements there since 1967 for ideologically, religiously or economically motivated Israelis. Unfortunately, Baksy's initiative didn't help. The Palestinians are currently suffering genocide at the hands of the Israeli army.
With the ongoing destruction of Palestine, are there still hula-hoop girls (picture 1) who dare to play between the destroyed buildings while the grinning grim reaper (picture 3) is already watching?
Maybe there is still the girl with the heart-shaped balloon (picture 4), which we want to interpret here as a symbol of hope. But as long as the Israeli occupying powers are under global protection and any slight doubt about their actions is reflexively punished, Banksy shows in the artwork "No Future" the feeling that the Palestinians are most likely to share right now (picture 5).
How do you convey to a people in this situation that they are not forgotten by the world, but valued (Picture 6)? Or should we rely on collective forgetting and hope that the Palestinian genocide will soon be swept under the carpet of forgetting (picture 7)?
With the little orphan girl Cosette from Les Miserables, who cries out of eyes irritated by tear gas, Banksy draws attention to the camp evacuation of the refugees in Calais (image 8). But this image unfortunately fits many places in our world and also to the great drama of the refugee crisis, which Banksy processed in his triptych "Mediterranean Sea View" (Picture 9).
Banksy is extremely aware of the horrors and cruelties of the current human era. So it is not surprising that the installation of a large picture showing a meeting room in which all the people involved are monkeys (picture 10) shows a possible development perspective for the world. The final video in this article, “Monkey Theater,” shows the successful installation of the meeting room. The animation of the image ends with the saying: "Laugh now, but one day we'll be in charge"
The exhibition The Mystery of Banksy "A Genius Mind" runs until May 26th in Cologne.
Note: When is it legally a matter of genocide?
Criminal law professor Stefanie Bock: “From a legal perspective, genocide is the killing of a member of a protected group with the intention of exterminating the group as such. In addition to killing, there are also other relevant acts, such as the specific infliction of suffering or the transfer of children.”
