There was a time when street artists had to remain undercover. These days, they’re out and out celebrities. They have art shows and work in broad daylight. Still, if you’re a famous artist working in public spaces anonymity can be an asset. Just ask the most famous paste up and stencil artist in the game.
That’s right, friends — clandestine and sneaky as ever, Banksy is back and on a street art rampage with several new murals in New York City, the latest of which is in Brooklyn.
Banksy posted a photo of new street art in the Midwood section of Brooklyn, removing any doubt that it was his doing. The larger mural features what looks like a real estate developer wearing a suit and carrying a briefcase and a hardhat, brandishing a whip shaped like a rising red line graph while children, a woman, an elderly person, and a dog do their best to run away. It looks like Banksy is making a statement yet again, and this time it’s on the evils of gentrification and how the new wave of developers in the area are running the local residents out with the intended goal of increased profit.
The second, smaller painting is a seal with a red ball on his nose that is really just leftover paint from where a sign used to hang…and maybe that one was just for fun?
The murals are located on an abandoned building at at Coney Island Avenue and Avenue I, adjacent to the new Trump Village. A few days ago, Banksy painted a rat running in a clock on 14th Street in NYC as his first painting in the city since 2013. Hopefully, this street art streak will continue.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BgjJrU0grum/?hl=en&tagged=banksy
