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

Post by ua709 » Sun, May 03, 2026, 8:38 PM UTC

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.

Post by vscode-rest » Sun, May 03, 2026, 8:38 PM UTC

zeroonetwothree wrote: post #6

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.

Yes doesn’t feel very innovative

Post by nickthegreek » Sun, May 03, 2026, 8:39 PM UTC

thinkingemote wrote: post #13

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.

it gets people talking which many of those who like it consider to be the primary point. In other words, it's not great public art, it's basically government approved engagement bait or engineered pro-establishment viral messaging and it's very successful at that! (but it doesn't inspire and elevate that art should aspire to)

Post by matteason » Sun, May 03, 2026, 8:40 PM UTC

jansan wrote: post #23

Who decides that this is from Banksy? I could make a stencil graffiti in my village and claim it's from Banksy and noone could prove me wrong. Or is he using a digital signature as proof of authorship?

Post by tolerance » Sun, May 03, 2026, 8:40 PM UTC

schoen wrote: post #5

I misparsed this headline as (Statue (of a man (blinded by a flag (put up by Banksy)))) in central London It is intended to be ((Statue (of a man (blinded by a flag))) (put up by Banksy)) in central London