By Prarthana Mitra
A series of new Banksy murals appeared overnight all across Paris in the last week of June. Nine new artworks by the anonymous British street artist cover a number of themes corresponding to raging social issues, like Europe’s migrant crisis to student protests in France. One very topical artwork observes the anniversary of the French Revolution. His signature rodents also find themselves stencilled across Parisian thoroughfares, leading experts to surmise that Banky might be behind this new trail of graffiti.
Later, his publicist confirmed that they were indeed his contributions, and soon the photographs of these murals were uploaded to his verified Instagram account.
This would not be the first time Banksy has taken his protest to the wall. Always a proponent of using street art as a political weapon and a communicative tool, Banksy had sprayed sharply critical images on the wall dividing Israel from the West Bank in 2005. He even visited a Syrian refugee camp in Calais in 2015 where he painted a caricature of Steve Jobs (of Syrian descent) to make a statement on immigration.
More poignant and topical than ever
In the latest murals, Banksy castigates the French government for their complacency in the migrant crisis. On a wall close to the Bataclan terrorist attack site, a girl with a veil stands forlorn and hopeless.
In another, a modern-day Napolean charges forward on his horse, wearing a cape that hides even his face. In what could be a reference to France’s ban on face coverings in public places, the mural is believed to be based on Jacques-Louis Davids painting of Napoleon crossing the Alps on horseback. On Monday, it was reported to have been cut out of the wall, as is the case with street art which lacks the protection of galleries.
Source: Twitter/@Kaan_H_OktenSome of the murals serve as reminders of the violent student uprising that shook Paris in 1968. There are a few others which are general meditations on commodity fetishism, capitalism, apathy and greed. The man in a suit offering a one-legged dog what could possibly be his own bone strikes a deep chord even in the grimmest of hearts.
https://twitter.com/highsnobiety/status/1011340280052764673
One mural, in particular, stands out: a young black girl looks over her shoulders as she paints intricate patterns on her patch of the sidewalk, to cover up a Nazi swastika. Interestingly, this mural which was the first to be discovered on World Refugee Day was found vandalised shortly afterwards, splashed with blue paint.
Art for the displaced
Thousands of refugees in Paris are currently homeless as camps are being shuttered across the country. Recently Prime Minister Emmanuel Macron came under attack for criticising Italy over refusing to accept a boatful of refugees, while French border police were harassing migrant children in his own backyard.
Countries around the Mediterranean Sea are still debating over the custodianship of refugee boats, before reaching a tentative conclusion at the EU28 summit, to share the responsibility following Italy and France’s conflict. A comprehensive solution to the migrant crisis looks unlikely to arrive in the near future. But one thing is for sure: if developed countries don’t protect those fleeing danger zones across turbulent seas in the middle of the night, we’d be failing them miserably.
Prarthana Mitra is a staff writer at Qrius