Who doesn’t love gifts at Christmas? While some of us are privileged enough to spend this beautiful day surrounded by family, friends, a lot of delicious food and lovely gifts; we fail to realize that there is another section of the society that doesn’t have a care in the world and when people around the world celebrate and have fun, they spend lonely sleepless nights and probably go to bed on an empty stomach.
This caught the attention of a British street artist Banksy, and with Christmas approaching, he created a seasonal mural that highlighted the issue of the homeless. The video clip posted by him on a social media platform showed a bearded man called Ryan reclining on the bench and as the video is zoomed out, viewers realize that it echoes the traditional image of Santa on his sleigh.
According to a report from Reuters, the artwork was created in Banksy’s trademark stenciled graffiti style and it appeared in Birmingham central England.
Banksy shared it on Instagram with the caption, “God bless Birmingham. In the 20 minutes, we filmed Ryan on this bench, passers-by gave him a hot drink, two chocolate bars and a lighter – without him ever asking for anything.”
The video has garnered more than 3 million views on in the first 24 hours and netizens are applauding this thought-provoking artwork.
According to numerous media reports, someone tried to distort the artwork by adding two red noses on the reindeer. To protect the artwork from further damage, a protective fence placed on Tuesday, 10 December.
The artist who has not revealed his identity yet, his works have rocketed in value and recently, a report from Reuters mentioned that Banksy’s painting of chimps in Britain’s parliament was sold for more than $12 million in October this year. Do visit myfestivefinds.com to look for celebration ideas.
In the same month, the artist also opened his own ‘online store’, selling works for as little as 10 pounds to buyers who were randomly selected and who could answer one simple question “Why does art matter?”
Check out what netizens are saying about this post:
New #Bansky awesome work 🤩 pic.twitter.com/3m6ajrPhhW
— L’antiapatico. (@BaldCezar) December 10, 2019
Banksy’s homeless mural has been covered in a protective layer after being vandalised
The artwork has now received more attention and protection in the last 10 hours than the rough sleepers of Brum have received in a decade
— MiMi xxx (@Mi_xxxMi) December 10, 2019
Had to visit the new Banksy around the corner from my work just now! pic.twitter.com/66Zfw1VRrA
— Cam (@CamR493) December 10, 2019
What’s your thought on this?