In 2005 Louisiana was devastated by Hurricane Katrina and the city of New Orleans suffered terribly when the walls of a canal failed and floodwater inundated the north and east parts of the city. The recorded direct death toll was 1392 people.
In 2008 Banksy created 17 art pieces on the streets of New Orleans, the vast majority of which related to the causes and consequences of Katrina (as most people refer to the hurricane event).
NOLA RAIN by Jesse Zuefle tells the New Orleans Banksy story, indeed that is the subtitle of the book.
What Zuefle has done is take Banksy’s main motive as a start point, track the images and their locations, then through diligence, luck and secrecy record the stories of the life, death and resurrections of each of the pieces. In part the book constitutes a diary of one man’s specific obsession and the top level geekmanship and risk taking required to sift through the metaphorical sludge under the upturned rock. At another level it is an invaluable resource diligently researched for the curious and nerdy. Yes, raise your right hand, that’s you. Now carry on reading.
The author Jesse Zuefle from Buffalo, New York has owned a home in New Orleans since 2011 and spends his time between New York and New Orleans. He developed into a complete Banksy obsessive and ultimately appointed himself the protecter, preserver and cleaner extraordinaire of New Orlean’s Umbrella Girl. Plexiglass suppliers owe Zeufle for kids shod, designer clothes and second holidays. This book comes from good hands and a great heart.
“Umbrella Girl speaks directly to the people of New Orleans, while also having a universal appeal”
My (purchased) copy arrived with a couple of stickers from an artist “Banksy Hates Me” and stencil street art on the streets or New Orleans by Banksy Hates Me appears in photos, some might speculate a connection between the author and that pseudonymous artist.
The facts are all present so much as you can ever have facts regarding Banksy, the image on the wall is essentially where Banksy facts start and end. Before, with and after the image comes the myth and in astonishing detail Zuefle keeps pushing through the smoke to establish the truth and preserve a treasure trove of relevant information. Wall ownership, painting arrangements, preservation measures, heist stories often requiring patient detective work and some personal risk are documented in photos and words.
Like the first puff of spray to clear a spraycan cap,
Anecdotes spread like paint vapour through the book but the author has had the integrity to track original sources such as building owners, neighbours, art thieves and so on rather than preface every bit of speculation with “rumours suggested.” Some stories feel like there may be more to tell but the lifting of the veil might be conditional on swearing to secrecy on the missing details. The gripping story of one adventure sees the intrepid blindfolded author have his phone removed so that he cannot track where self confessed Banksy art thieves take him to show a NOLA piece they have hidden in their secret lair. Cue the Author/Banksy selfie.
There are stories being told for the first time; reports from owners, property neighbours; art collectives in New Orleans provide context and back story; anti-graffiti campaigners including the notorious Grey Ghost are highlighted. Stories of art fraud, of mis-dealings and deceit, of interventions by Banksy’s authentication service Pest Control, the revelations just keep on coming. There is also a forensic attention to the image’s life story presented through photographic time series.
The potency and appeal of a Banksy street art piece is heightened by a generous dollop of “how did he do that”. This book goes deep into the preparation and facilitation that goes on before a Brit shows up all clandestine in his mask and goes crazy with stencils all on his own, in secret, with no support. There are references to an un-named “Fixer”; there are interviews with property owners and there are even some named individuals in New Orleans who appear to be empowered by Banksy to find locations. Ok, but who gave them the right to swan about town pointing at likely walls? Every revelation tantalises by hinting at the next secret, like a parcel passed to the left and each ripped layer of paper revealing just another layer.
The ideal way to see a Banksy is in person in its original location as the context can be significant. On the one hand this book does a great job of conveying and exploring the geophysical and political context of the Katrina Banksys. On the other the book is not a dispassionate evaluation of the issues in removing, restoring and relocating Banksy street pieces to say a bar, or a secret private collection. The restoration process, including that gel that differentially removes one layer of paint but leaves the chemically identical layer below it untouched is enthusiastically applauded.
If there is one thing that might to niggle a Banksy nerd, especially members of the ancient order of decrepit photographers, it is the somewhat loose attribution of photographer credits. A number of photos are credited to secondary sources rather than the original photographer and other attributions have the preface “provided by”, not so much a credit as conveniently under-researched blame deflection.
The author harbours a sensitivity around the issue of taggers, describing as fools the writer tagging “Team Robbo” over one of Banksy’s Grey Ghost images, the Grey Ghost being a kind of self appointed Vandal Squad vigilante who becomes as fixated by fame as much any graffiti writer. The augmentation is correctly linked to the spat in London between Robbo and Banksy but the book brusquely rejects the tagger’s recognition of the figurative and sartorial similarities with Banksy’s graffiti wallpaperer and wit in recreating Robbo’s appropriation (full back story here). The resentment has its reasons however, the same day that same tagger took an angle grinder to the author’s cherished charge Umbrella girl. It’s all part of the forensic history rigorously recorded in NOLA RAIN.
Loose threads are few and far between, like the anecdote that Banksy fled one scene on spotting a neighbour taking pictures through the window, suggesting there are possibly actual action shots to be discovered and only a limited number of possible doors to knock on!
Bookstores are awash with printed books about Banksy. Even if they are not about Banksy, they put Banksy on the cover because that will sell any book about street art. Too many Banksy books are written on commission by outsiders and newbies who have pedigree in writing books but who through lack of proximate knowledge frequently misunderstand the nuances and history of the culture. To write a decent book takes a local and an expert and Jesse Zeufle is the perfect geek for the NOLA job.
In May 2024 I made a whistle stop four city tour of the US East Coast, between booking the tickets and arriving in New Orleans the famous Umbrella Girl cherished and protected by Zeufle was removed. Yes, personally perhaps a little disappointing however the collection of photos and stories in this book absolutely is the next best thing to having witnessed the walls from the moment of creation. I would have found the book an inavaluable guide had it been published before I visited.
This book is an essential for the Banksy fan and there is a very obvious arbitrage on the expense of ordering and delivering to Europe. Publishing and distribution needed, apply to author!
This is a book for the obsessive, this is a review for the already converted and I hugely recommend obtaining a copy (self publishing author seeks distribution, apply online!)
[This review was originally published on Graffoto in November 2025, republished in slightly modified form here after the morons that hosted graffoto blog, that’s Hostinger, crashed the blog and failed to have a working back up as paid for. Fuckers]
