Lockdown with Banksy
Banksy’s bathroom art has proved that even street artists can work from home, Jess Calcutt reports.
At the start of lockdown we were advised to “Stay home. Stay Safe. Save lives.” and thus the whole population rapidly transitioned into a new way of life, which included for many, working from home. Whilst you wouldn’t think it was possible for the notorious street artist Banksy to follow these rules, he has defied the confines of his title as “street artist” and created a work depicting a series of mischievous rats causing havoc in his bathroom. Captioned on Instagram as“My wife hates it when I work from home.”, this work not only embodies the British sense of humour, which seems to be magnified in times of hardship, but also the British resilience which has seen this country through two World Wars. Each rat seems to have its own agenda and whilst being playful and humorous one rat, quite poignantly, can be seen in the mirrors reflection tallying the days of lockdown.
This work not only embodies the British sense of humour, which seems to be magnified in times of hardship, but also the British resilience
This work can be seen, quite literally, to reflect the trials and tribulations that people are facing on a day to day basis in their “new normal”; bored children causing trouble, outbursts of energy or as the tallying rat depicts, the deeper struggles of being trapped in your home with no escape.
Art throughout lockdown has become an important outlet for artists to depict their views of this new battle which we are facing, but also the public. With many now being trapped inside their homes, and up until recently only allowed out once a day, it has been a time in which peoples creativity has blossomed and Banksy’s work truly exemplifies this. Whilst less and less people have been walking the streets on a daily basis, through posting this work on social media Banksy has also shown the adaptability of the nation.
I have always felt that street art exists outside the confines of the classic artistic modes of painting and sculpture, that it instead exists within its own ‘rules’ and therefore believe that this confinement to our homes, has not affected street art in any limiting way, but has instead given it a further outlet for street artists, such as Banksy to express themselves. Banksy is still using his work to reach out to the general public but in this modern, Corona ridden world, social media is now his street corner or brick wall on which to paint his message.
