New York, May 15 (EFE).- The Banksy museum opened its doors this Wednesday in New York to exhibit recreations of almost 200 timeless pieces by the mysterious graffiti artist, in which themes that, despite the passage of time, are harshly portrayed. years, continue to be the order of the day, such as the Israeli-Palestinian conflict or the migratory crisis.
The museum, installed in a former gymnasium in New York’s Chinatown, displays some of Banksy’s most famous and controversial works, reproduced by a group of ten artists who, like the British artist, have preferred to preserve their anonymity.
All works are represented as they are or were arranged in the actual locations, with destroyed concrete blocks at their feet or with holes and scratches, and even the wall on which they are placed is an exact reproduction of the walls on which they stand. the original graffiti is found.
Banksy’s timelessness
Much of the exhibition features graffiti and paintings that portray the war in Ukraine and the conflict between Israel and Palestine, two themes that are currently in the eye of the storm and that show the timelessness of Banksy’s art, as many of the pieces They were made years or even decades ago.
“Art is timeless. You can’t see art without making a connection with what is happening today,” the museum’s founder, Hazis Vardar, told EFE.
In the section dedicated to Palestine and Israel, the reproduction of a room of the Walled Off hotel in the city of Bethlehem stands out, founded by Banksy in 2017 and also conceived as an art gallery that, until its recent closure, financed local projects.
The walls of this room are decorated with imposing pieces such as the large graffiti ‘Israeli & Palestinian Pillow Fight’, which shows a pillow fight between an Israeli soldier and a Palestinian man, or ‘Watchtower’, a painting in which children from Both territories have fun in a live guy.
And on many occasions, the British artist chooses children as the protagonists of his works, portraying their innocence and the ignorance with which they live the wars that threaten their places of origin.
Precisely, in the exhibition, children are the ones who narrate a large part of the war in Ukraine through works such as a large mural where a boy defeats an adult man in a judo fight that, according to some experts, could be a representation of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Another girl tells the story of the migratory crisis in a graffiti in which she observes through a telescope a ship trying to cross the border and which appears full of corpses and people who seem to ask for help.
“Banksy does not take sides (in conflicts), but rather has a human approach that reaches the public,” the museum’s executive director, William Meade, told EFE.
A museum full of contradictions
Beyond his well-known social criticism, Banksy, originally from Bristol (England), stands out for his fierce criticism of the commercialization of art and his general rejection of museums, values that contrast with the inauguration of this gallery, which sells its tickets at $30 each.
“(The contradiction) is the best part of all this,” Meade said with a laugh. “It’s kind of ironic, but at the same time, I think of it like: ‘If we didn’t have a way to record a wonderful concert, how would we do it?’ would people listen to? Many of Banksy’s works are destroyed, and we have been able to capture his art, honoring the way he originally did it.”
(c) EFE Agency
2024-05-16 00:16:43
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