Banksy is known for his provocative political art. The artist has unveiled his latest politically charged creation in the often violent region of Gaza, posting a photograph of a weeping figure wearing a head scarf, children playing on a fairground ride and a white cat licking its paws.
He also posted a video titled “Make this the year YOU discover a new destination,” where he is entering an “illegal tunnel” in Gaza, and then paints several new pieces among rubble and destroyed buildings. ‘Banksy in Gaza’ a two-minute video of a satirical travel advert for Gaza after travelling to the area undercover and has a line that reads: “If we wash our hands of the conflict between the powerful and the powerless we side with the powerful — we don’t remain neutral.”
“Gaza is often described as ‘the world’s largest open air prison’ because no-one is allowed to enter or leave. But that seems a bit unfair to prisons – they don’t have their electricity and drinking water cut off randomly almost every day.
A local man came up and said ‘Please – what does this mean?’ I explained I wanted to highlight the destruction in Gaza by posting photos on my website – but on the internet people only look at pictures of kittens.” – Banksy
The film goes on to say: “Development opportunities are everywhere and then adds that no cement has been allowed in to the area. The destruction the artist depicts was a result of the 50-day conflict which left 2000 Palestinian dead (including 539 children) and close to 3,000 injured. 67 Israeli soldiers and 6 civilians in Israel were also killed, according to United Nations figures.
A publicist for the artist, released a statement to The New York Times that said:
“I don’t want to take sides. But when you see entire suburban neighborhoods reduced to rubble with no hope of a future — what you’re really looking at is a vast outdoor recruitment center for terrorists. And we should probably address this for all our sakes.”