Over the years, Banksy has created the image of a righteous warrior destined to fight evil in people’s minds. The immigration problem is one more war that the international street artist wages. If you were attentive enough for all this time, you would have noticed how much attention he devoted to the depiction of such a bleeding issue. Banksy love for immigrants is obvious, but what can his art tell people about the nature of ostracism and xenophobia? At the end of the day, what can it tell about Banksy himself?
Banksy Love for Immigrants: A Message to People
When it comes to immigration, Banksy’s enthusiasm is exceptionally passionate. In August 2020, the famous street artist even devoted an entire rescue boat to save refugees crossing the Mediterranean Sea. Besides, there is a series of artworks meant to poke fun at the anti-immigration narrative. Even though many people find a lot of controversy in those artworks, Banksy love for immigrants conveys an important message to all people.
Since Banksy’s philosophy is based on fundamental social equality, his street art about migration aims to criticize people who hate immigrants. The nature of such hatred lies not only in social stratification but also in racial diversity. A good example of such a message is the mural with a black girl spraying a pink wallpaper pattern over a swastika.
Through this artwork, Banksy subtly compared some groups of Westerns with people believing in Nazism. Furthermore, the mural painter delves into the matter of modern-day xenophobia, another grave issue of the 21st century.
Does Banksy love for immigrants teach people to change their views on immigration? Not really. The idea of his immigration series is—first and foremost—to show that people need to be more humane to each other. Original Banksy art does make people kinder, all people.