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New statue in London, attributed to Banksy, of a suited man, blinded by a flag

smithsonianmag.com

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Re: New statue in London, attributed to Banksy, of a suited man, blinded by a flag

#241

Post by Simulacra »

mindslight wrote: post #123
Simulacra wrote: post #112

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I can't get over the flag itself… It's a black flag. Not a British flag, not a white flag,… A BLACK flag. Historically, the black flag is strongly associated with anarchism, anti-state politics, revolt, and rejection of national authority. Had he colored it in the union jack, then I would've said it was nationalism, and the person is blinded by nationalism. But. This is Banksy, black-and-white Banksy, so there may be…

I think it's about being slightly more subtle than a frontal attack on a specific flag. But from an American perspective a guy wearing a suit while carrying an "anarchist" flag wouldn't be inappropriate, either.

But what is the anarchist flag?

Re: New statue in London, attributed to Banksy, of a suited man, blinded by a flag

#242

Post by ninjagoo »

xyzelement wrote: post #60

It took me a minute to figure out why I think it's lame. I suspect that Banksy and his fans are sure that it's "the other" Britons that are blinded, it's not a self-reflection prompt for them. Maybe I am wrong. Maybe a more powerful piece of art would have that self reflection effect across the board. As is it feels about as nuanced as "fuck trump" and similar. If you already agree you already agree, if not then you…

> It took me a minute to figure out why I think it's lame.

> Maybe a more powerful piece of art would have that self reflection effect across the board. As is it feels about as nuanced as "fuck trump" and similar. If you already agree you already agree, if not then you just think it's stupid.

So close. Based on your own statement, it appears that you disagree with the proposed thesis by this piece of art.

> So ultimately feels like impotent art unless I am totally misunderstanding.

Maybe you should re-examine why you think it is stupid/lame. Is it because it calls you out and you don't like that feeling?

Re: New statue in London, attributed to Banksy, of a suited man, blinded by a flag

#243

Post by overfeed »

pirate787 wrote: post #159
nickthegreek wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> engineered pro-establishment viral messaging I don’t understand this. What speaks pro-establishment in this piece?

In the UK the establishment is generally unsettled by the display of the English flag. https://edition.cnn.com/2025/08/29/uk/st-george-flag-england...

Regional chauvinism is never good for a healthy union. Even if it were the Union Jack, flag-shaggers are almost always blood and soil zealots.

Re: New statue in London, attributed to Banksy, of a suited man, blinded by a flag

#244

Post by ninjagoo »

It's an interesting piece. Makes one think about all those folks that have a lot of pride and vanity for a place that they had no control over being born in. The luck of the draw.

And very likely had very little to do with the current state of the place. Pride at age 21? Meaningless vanity, like being proud of being born with a silver spoon. Pride at age 80? Sure, if it was a life well-lived.

Re: New statue in London, attributed to Banksy, of a suited man, blinded by a flag

#245

Post by hn_throwaway_99 »

forgotusername6 wrote: post #4

I think it's a reasonable statue. But does anyone else think it's a bit obvious, more so than his other work? Like there is no doubt on the meaning at all, it's all right there on the surface level.

Strong disagree. First, like many of the other comments mention, Banksy is known for being clever and witty, but not particularly subtle.

But more to the point, while you may think the meaning is a bit obvious, the fact that the flag is unadorned (which/whose flag is it?), and the man is unknown, makes me think this statue could be the ultimate Rorschach test. I'm sure there are tons of people thinking "Ha ha, this is the perfect commentary on all those idiot wrapping themselves up in their ideology of as they march ".

In other words, I'm guessing you probably felt the meaning was "obvious" because you filled in the blanks in the above madlibs-style statement in a way that feels obvious to you, and I think folks on "the other side" would probably fill in the blanks with the exact opposite notions in a way that feels "obvious" to them.

Re: New statue in London, attributed to Banksy, of a suited man, blinded by a flag

#247

Post by ninjagoo »

ggm wrote: post #2

The point is not just that he's blinded by the flag: He's boldly marching into the void, confident. "wrapped in the flag" is a great saying.

> He's boldly marching into the void

into the void, or off the edge?

"off the edge" is a clear interpretation of the statue. "into the void" is a bit more of a stretch. IMHO.

But that's art for you. Everyone has their own take on it.

Re: New statue in London, attributed to Banksy, of a suited man, blinded by a flag

#248

Post by celticninja »

celticninja wrote: post #229
n1b0m wrote: post #218

Earlier quoted context omitted.

More likely a commentary on the flying of flags. Since late 2025 and throughout 2026, the UK has seen a surge in flags (the Union Jack and St George’s Cross) being tied to lampposts, bridges, and roundabouts. This campaign, which has been highly visible on social media and in physical neighborhoods, claims to promote patriotism. However, it has been deeply polarising, with critics and anti-racism groups arguing it is…

This feels ai generated, was it?

This is a weird one, some of the posts are obviously a human, some are a mix and some are AI entirely. Maybe I just don't understand the point in posting AI generated content at all in this scenario.

Re: New statue in London, attributed to Banksy, of a suited man, blinded by a flag

#249

Post by jamesmccann »

Simulacra wrote: post #112
metalman wrote: post #3

Statue of a man in a suit walking off a precipice while blinding himself with the flag he is carrying. https://banksy.co.uk/index.html

I can't get over the flag itself… It's a black flag. Not a British flag, not a white flag,… A BLACK flag. Historically, the black flag is strongly associated with anarchism, anti-state politics, revolt, and rejection of national authority. Had he colored it in the union jack, then I would've said it was nationalism, and the person is blinded by nationalism. But. This is Banksy, black-and-white Banksy, so there may be…

It's a monochrome artwork so there is no colour assigned to the flag, rather than it being specifically black.

Re: New statue in London, attributed to Banksy, of a suited man, blinded by a flag

#250

Post by bigiain »

"Dress up. Leave a false name. Be legendary. The best Poetic Terrorism is against the law, but don’t get caught. Art as crime; crime as art." -- T.A.Z.: The Temporary Autonomous Zone, Ontological Anarchy, Poetic Terrorism, 1985

The whole piece is great - https://theanarchistlibrary.org/library/hakim-bey-t-a-z-the-...

Or if you have 5 mins to spare, the album version with Bill Laswell is even better - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nt9vMF01Pd8

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