Shrine post - Banksy

After much prodding from certain people, I'm finally doing a shrine post. And yes it's a bit picture heavy, but after all, that's what makes him so brilliant, so why not show it?

For those who don't know, Banksy is a British street/graffiti artist. He paints on walls, buildings, billboards, even the 'segregation wall' between Palestine and Israel. He paints around signs, lamposts, windows even holes in walls. His paintings challenge society, and often quite literally stick two fingers up to the world we live in today; consumerism, materialism, authority. Everyone interprets them differently, but what I really love about them is they can never end up in a stuffy art gallery, being bid over by millionaires and billionaires. They'll always be out in the open, for everyone to look at. His paintings are often very powerful, and really make you think. No-one knows who Banksy is, he chooses to remain anonymous. This is partly because of neccesity; his work is technically illegal as it is graffiti. But I think that the real reason is that since he is no-one, in a way he is everyone. How can you know that the man walking down the street in front of you isn't Banksy? It's brilliant, in a way that I can't quite put my finger on. It's like he's the little voice inside your head telling you that society is flawed, majorly, but you keep ignoring. He's the eptimony of free speech, and maybe a bit of teenage anarchy, which he probably should be to old for now, but who knows. I've gone on a bit here, but I guess the point is, Banksy is who, or what you make him. Some think of him as a worthless vandal who makes a living by defacing property, but I see him as inspirational, and a welcome relief from 'art' which consists of something a 5 year old could have done with a stick and a blob of red paint.

So Banksy, I salute you!