Earlier quoted context omitted.
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I have no idea what you're on about
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New statue in London, attributed to Banksy, of a suited man, blinded by a flag
211–220 of 615 posts
Re: New statue in London, attributed to Banksy, of a suited man, blinded by a flag
#212Had this statue been erected in 2006, it would’ve been an immortal masterpiece. Had it been sculpted in 2016, it would still have been a great statue but flawed. But it was made in 2026. Alas, what can one say?
Re: New statue in London, attributed to Banksy, of a suited man, blinded by a flag
#213England has a long history producing artwork against some institution, only for that institution to get worse over time. George Orwell wrote about the dangers of authoritarianism and surveillance, and since then the UK government has only ratcheted up their surveillance and authority. They also made a movie called This is England which straightforwardly depicts young English nationalists ruining their lives with nati…
"They also made a movie called This is England which straightforwardly depicts young English nationalists"
Not sure who you think "they" are but "This is England" is superb. It deals with a lot of issues, way beyond just nationalism and the like.
Perhaps you would like to fix your gimlet gaze on "A Clockwork Orange" and deliver a further withering critique.
A simple explanation regarding the increase of the number of nationalists within England is the population has increased. QED.
Re: New statue in London, attributed to Banksy, of a suited man, blinded by a flag
#214Re: New statue in London, attributed to Banksy, of a suited man, blinded by a flag
#215Earlier quoted context omitted.
It's pretty obvious once you look at the art - it has a very specific political leaning, which also happens to have been the predominant one in the UK since Blair.
closet-fascist?
Europe has gone so far left-wing, that not-left-enough are called fascist :)
Re: New statue in London, attributed to Banksy, of a suited man, blinded by a flag
#216Earlier quoted context omitted.
Not sure I agree it’s “most likely” when the linked article presents no evidence of LEA awareness or complicity, just one person speculating. I know firsthand what can be done with a hardhat, clipboard, and high-viz vest. IMO it is far more likely that Banksy is just really good at social engineering in ways that other street artists are not.
The difference is that you'd get a police visit and your artwork torn down if you're not Banksy.
mainly because it's worth a lot of money...
Re: New statue in London, attributed to Banksy, of a suited man, blinded by a flag
#217Earlier quoted context omitted.
Not sure I agree it’s “most likely” when the linked article presents no evidence of LEA awareness or complicity, just one person speculating. I know firsthand what can be done with a hardhat, clipboard, and high-viz vest. IMO it is far more likely that Banksy is just really good at social engineering in ways that other street artists are not.
The difference is that you'd get a police visit and your artwork torn down if you're not Banksy.
That doesn't mean it was coordinated.
Re: New statue in London, attributed to Banksy, of a suited man, blinded by a flag
#218Earlier quoted context omitted.
Is it? The flag is black, so could be a variety of things, not necessarily even a national flag. Just a flag in a march. (Anarchism uses a black flag.)
The guy is walking off a cliff and he is blinded by the flag. I assume it is a commentary on Brexit. It is just short of a decade since that vote. Nationalism blinded people and they did something stupid. Not dissimilar to what is going on in the US too.
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 being used by far-right groups to mark territory and intimidate immigrant communities.
Re: New statue in London, attributed to Banksy, of a suited man, blinded by a flag
#219Earlier quoted context omitted.
"Blinded by nationalism" I don't know, seems like a clear concise message that has relevance in today's world.
Is it though? This can mean anything. Is waving a Palestinian flag the same as waving an Israeli flag? Where do we draw the line between harmful and productive nationalism? Who exactly is blinded by nationalism? It is vague enough to appear deep to those trying to find something deep but not concrete enough to appear as anything that will stick in people's minds for more than a week. Unfortunately a lot of modern art…
> Is it though? This can mean anything. Is waving a Palestinian flag the same as waving an Israeli flag? Where do we draw the line between harmful and productive nationalism? Who exactly is blinded by nationalism?
Clearly it depends on your actual object-level position on the Israel/Palestine conflict. Or in general, what specific nationalisms you mean when you talk about being "blinded by nationalism".
And that's the main reason why I think this is a mediocre piece of art. Very few people actually are genuinely anti-nationalist for all possible human groups that have some sense of themselves as a nation. All anti-nationalist rhetoric is implicitly aimed at a specific nationalism that someone has a problem with - and also everyone knows this. So everyone wants to use the blank slate of bansky's featureless flag as a canvas upon which to paint a nationalism they don't like in order to discredit it. And I personally think that's boring. Maybe engendering that reaction was itself part of Bansky's artistic vision, but I still don't think that makes for good art.
Re: New statue in London, attributed to Banksy, of a suited man, blinded by a flag
#220I doubt Banksy is a single person fwiw.
There's most definitely many people involved in Banksy's art - but consensus seems to be forming that it's a man named Robin Gunningham [1].
1. https://www.reuters.com/investigates/special-report/global-a...