New Banksy Graffiti in London is Satirical Slap at Consumerism

Written by Bonnie Alter

Banksy, that super-productive and ubiquitous graffiti artist, is at it again. This week three new pieces of his graffiti popped up on the streets, or should that be walls, of London.

There are ostriches on the side of the National Gallery, a satirical message about consumerism on a wall and a street sign bearing a new spin on the meaning of rat race.

Why the flurry of activity? Maybe it is a gift for harried Londoners at this grey and dark time of the year. Or perhaps it is a reminder that there is more to life than running around like rats in a cage.

Perhaps we are all like ostriches, sticking our heads in the sand when it comes to the important issues in this world.

Or maybe it is self-promotion (what, me?) He does have a website where he too is selling Christmas cheer (?) such as “instructions” for making a mobile out of closed-circuit tv’s (free of charge).

Always elusive, he has answered a few burning questions on his website:

Is Banksy just a big brand these days? Do you even paint your own pictures?
It’s not supposed to be a brand, which is why people in advertising think it’s such a good one. I paint it all myself unless its illegal, in which case I’ve never seen any of it before, your honour.

What artists do you rate?
Käthe Kollwitz is my favourite. Partly because her drawing style is so beautiful, and partly because she thought being an artist was self-indulgent crap and became a doctor in an orphanage instead. So there.

This post was originally published by Treehugger.

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Read more: art, banksy, consumerism, graffiti, london, satire, treehugger

All photos from banksy

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Konakai u.

10:04PM PDT on Mar 22, 2012

I really like the "lifestyle" one was hit on. Shateringly real fr some of us. Love the hamster in a rim one, too. That's the individual operating the last-minute errands!

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