Whether plastering cities with his trademark parachuting rat, painting imagined openings in the West Bank barrier in Israel, or stenciling âWeâre bored of fishâ above a penguinsâ zoo enclosure, Banksy creates street art with an irreverent wit and an international reputation that precedes his anonymous identity. âTV has made going to the theatre seem pointless, photography has pretty much killed painting,â he says, âbut graffiti has remained gloriously unspoilt by progress.â Banksy has gained his notoriety through a range of urban interventions, from modifying street signs and printing his own currency to illegally hanging his own works in institutions such as the Louvre and the Museum of Modern Art. Most often using spray paint and stencils, Banksy has crafted a signature, immediately identifiable graphic styleâand a recurring cast of cops, soldiers, children, and celebritiesâthrough which he critically examines contemporary issues of consumerism, political authority, terrorism, and the status of art and its display.
