A new Banksy artwork paying tribute to NHS workers has appeared in a hospital corridor yesterday. The piece, called Game Changer, is on view at Southampton General Hospital and was left with a note for hospital workers. It read: "Thanks for all you're doing. I hope this brightens the place up a bit, even if it's only black and white."
While this is for NHS, I think the sentiment holds for all carers and medical professionals (from the doctors to the ward boys) who are selflessly leading the charge against the pandemic.
In football, they say you must be mad to be a goalkeeper. In life, I think you must be mad to be a doctor/nurse/ambulance driver/paramedic/ward boy or ‘ayah’ (attendant) / work at a hospital / work anywhere in the medical care value chain. So much hard work, crazy hours, witness death and disease, not that great money, working conditions not always ideal and worst of all, not usually appreciated by the public. Their true worth has come to the fore in these strange times. I know doctors have the Hippocratic Oath that they need to abide by, but seriously hats off to the commitment and selflessness of the medical warriors!
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| Girl with Balloon |
Banksy is an anonymous England-based street artist, vandal, political activist, and film director, active since the 1990s. His satirical street art and subversive epigrams combine dark humour with graffiti executed in a distinctive stenciling technique. Balloon Girl, or Girl With Balloon, is one of Banksy’s most notable works, demonstrating the graffiti stencil technique Banksy has become renowned for the world over. The work was released as an unsigned and signed print in 2004/2005; its relatively low edition size contributes to its desirability, there are just 150 Girl With Balloon signed prints, and 600 unsigned. It is perhaps the most sought-after image for Banksy collectors, old and new.
This work, which was accompanied by a quotation that read, ‘there is always hope’ originally appeared in London’s Southbank (photo above); though the city council ordered the work to be painted over. Girl With Balloon has grown to become one of Banksy’s most iconic works, as such Banksy produced it again in a new context – a miniature version appeared on the cardboard backing of a cheap Ikea frame which quickly made its mark on the art market when it realised £73,250 at a sale at Bonhams in 2012.
I have always liked Banksy’s art - I just didn’t know it was him! The first piece I saw was a print of this painting on a wall at the offices TSB has hired at WeWorks Mansion House and thought wow, that decal was quite amazing. A few days after, Banksy burst onto my consciousness with the stunt he pulled at the Sotheby’s auction of the same painting. See the video below.
In 2018, a framed copy of the work spontaneously shredded during an auction, by way of a mechanical device Banksy had hidden in the frame. Banksy authenticated he was responsible for the shredding and gave the altered piece a new name, Love is in The Bin.
Sotheby said it was "the first work in history ever created during a live auction." Love is in the Bin is a 2018 art intervention by Banksy at Sotheby's London, with an unexpected self-destruction of his 2006 painting of Girl with Balloon immediately after it was sold at auction for a record £1,042,000.
Symbol of hope: The original stencil at Southbank was accompanied by a quote that read “There Is Always Hope”. Some people interpret Girl with Balloon as a symbol of lost innocence, whilst others believe the girl is setting the balloon free – either way, Banksy is reminding the viewer to hold on to hope, even when it feels out of reach. No wonder a 2017 poll ranked Girl with Balloon as the United Kingdom's number one favourite artwork.
Symbol of activism: Banksy has created variations of Girl with Balloon to address political issues and to support social campaigns. In 2014, he created a version featuring the girl wearing a headscarf, to support victims of the Syria conflict.
Two years later, the artist reworked the design to feature a Union Jack balloon and offered a free print of it to Bristol locals who voted against the Conservative government, which he had to backtrack when the Election Commission sent him a notice.
Sotheby said it was "the first work in history ever created during a live auction." Love is in the Bin is a 2018 art intervention by Banksy at Sotheby's London, with an unexpected self-destruction of his 2006 painting of Girl with Balloon immediately after it was sold at auction for a record £1,042,000.
Symbol of hope: The original stencil at Southbank was accompanied by a quote that read “There Is Always Hope”. Some people interpret Girl with Balloon as a symbol of lost innocence, whilst others believe the girl is setting the balloon free – either way, Banksy is reminding the viewer to hold on to hope, even when it feels out of reach. No wonder a 2017 poll ranked Girl with Balloon as the United Kingdom's number one favourite artwork.
Symbol of activism: Banksy has created variations of Girl with Balloon to address political issues and to support social campaigns. In 2014, he created a version featuring the girl wearing a headscarf, to support victims of the Syria conflict.
Two years later, the artist reworked the design to feature a Union Jack balloon and offered a free print of it to Bristol locals who voted against the Conservative government, which he had to backtrack when the Election Commission sent him a notice.