The graffiti grandmaster is back in the Big Apple.
His team was here in 2013 when I first moved to New York. I remember it being like a treasure hunt followed by deep political and socio-economic debate. His works have a way of slicing an issue to its core, exposing his viewers through their reactions and interpretations.
Over the last week, several of his works have appeared in the form of murals in Staten Island and on Bowery to the not-so-obvious clockwork in Union Square. I was in a cab over the weekend and unwittingly passed by a huge mural that was lit up. Above the mural, there was a projection of a painting superimposed overtop a photograph. (The two are side-x-side, below.) At first glance you could tell this was an important piece. People were clustered around in front of it watching the slides fade back and forth. My cab stopped at a red light diagonal from the work so we sat there and just looked at it for a while.
This is Banksy’s centerpiece. A depiction of Artist / Journalist Zehra Dogan who was imprisoned for painting the Turkish Flag over the rubble of a bombed town.
“Free Zehra Dogan”
The 70’ wide mural sits over one the busiest portions of Manhattan, and is composed of bold black tally marks indicating how many days Dogan has remained in prison. The artist herself is portrayed in the mural behind the tally marks (drawn as a blend of prison bars and pencils). Through his instagram account Banksy has made a few striking statements about his latest work:
"One year ago Zehra Dogan was jailed for painting this watercolour of a photograph she saw in the newspaper. Protest against this injustice…" Banky wrote on Instagram. "Sentenced to nearly three years in jail for painting a single picture. #FREEzehradogan." Source
Fuel for Conversation
I'll do a follow up post after visiting a couple of these pieces in person. There will be more coming. Last time (in 2013) Banksy captivated the city not only with his blitzing humor in the face of tough and complex issues... but in the way his street art became fuel for bigger conversations. Here's a clip I rememeber from 2013, when Banksy painted a rat on a block in East New York. A few guys covered it up with cardboard and started charging $10 - $20 for people to see it...
"Ya'll wouldn't come here, if this wasn't here."
It's amazing how such a subtle stencil can churn up all of this debate over ownership and neighborhood. Here's hoping the same fuel is cast over this wave of Banksy in NYC...
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