Banksy has blessed London’s street with a new, original and brilliant piece of art, confirmed a the genuine article this afternoon.
The placement, the satire and the humour are present and correct but subtly and most tellingly of all the elements, there is the matter of a large Banksy tag on the rear.
A suited figure carrying a flag which swirls around his face, blinding the flag bearer who strides boldly forward but tragically over the precipice of the pedestal. The statue symbolises toxic patriotism and exaggerated allegiance to a flag, something being seeing in many countries with grotesque consequences. Banksy’s monument would be funny if it wasn’t such a serious issue.
“People who enjoy waving flags don’t deserve to have one.” – Banksy (Wall and Piece 2005, pavement stencil possibly LA 2002)
The squat, heavy set character on the pedestal could represent any number of political figures. Trump comes to mind first but Nigel Farage as leader of Reform UK’s flag hijackers would be next on the list of obvious targets. It could be royalty of course but the general acceptance in UK is Charlie played a blinder addressing the American Congress this week, slipping in a few subtle digs in response to Trump’s recent ill considered insults.
Waterloo Place is very posh street with dual carriageway lanes separated by a wide civic space already crammed with ancient self congratulatory establishment tributes. Aesthetically the new monument fits in perfectly with all the other public decoration.
This location traditionally has been London’s club land and we’re not talking about loud repetitive beats, dropping a few Es and channelling the spirit of 2 weeks on Ibiza. Establishment clubs dot these streets, places were political power meets financial power. It’s a place of off the record whispered secrets, insider tips, political and financial favours would be traded as butlers serve food and drink on silver platters. The Houses of Parliament are in the background, Hedgie territory is a stone’s throw away, Buckingham Palace is a hop skip and jump around the corner. By proximity to parliament, finance and royalty a hat-trick of targets is in the crosshairs.
The signature at the back carries a load of information which for Banksy watchers may be the most significant element of the installation. Banksy stopped signing his street art in the early 2000s, declaring that the signature on his illegal art was in essence a confession. The one known exception is a mural painted in Bridge Farm Primary School in Somerset in 2016. So why has Banksy chosen this occasion to break with the habit of the past 22 years?
Just a month ago Reuters press agency published the conclusion of a year long investigative journalistic endeavour. Like slugs in a strawberry patch the world’s press have indulged in feeding frenzy of “Banksy outed” headlines. Revealing Banksy has fuelled a media click-bait eyeball harvest for the past 18 years. Reuters’ reveal, like all the other efforts, has still failed to locate an individual that anyone can point a finger at and say with certainty “Yup, that’s Banksy”.
Adding his signature to the Blinded Patriot, reversing his stated autograph aversion, is an assertion of identity, this is Banksy going “Can’t catch me”. A “Fuck you” to the copy and paste journos, it is business as usual for Banksy.
When we say as business as usual, Banksy has done quite a number of plinth based artworks and the the mind casts back in particular the 2004 Trust No One monument in Clerkenwell Green or The Drinker, Banksy’s parody of Rodin’s Thinker. Banksy’s dedication read out at the inauguration of the Trust No One’s statue seems as relevant now to the subject of this blind patriotism statue as it was then:
“dedicated to thugs, to thieves, to bullies, to liars, to the corrupt, the arrogant and the stupid” – Banksy, 2004
This unauthorised piece of fly-tipping in the heart of Establishment London has had the health and safety squad tutting over it as spotted by the artist Subdude today.
It’s pretty safe to assume Banksy did not submit a planning application for prior approval, so the council have no idea how the plinth is secured to the ground or whether the monument might be top heavy. For these reasons as well as the weak sense of humour the Establishment exhibits when it comes to mockery and satire aimed at itself, this intervention probably has only a brief life as a street piece. The council has literally thrown its arms around this piece having added some heavy duty barriers on Wednesday evening and much like the police booth piranha fish tank from 2024 this piece will have museums circling.
The final assessment is that this piece targets evil, mocks the establishment and does it with a trademark dash of humour. It’s a classic Banksy piece, no one else would have the brass neck, resources and guile to place such a huge statue on the streets. Banksy isn’t back, he never went away!
