Banksy’s (most likely) at it again. In what appears to be the anonymous British graffiti artist’s latest stunt, at least seven new works have popped up across Paris, all with a common theme: Europe’s migrant crisis.
And while no one can say for sure that the images are his, Banksy has been posting photos of the works of art to his verified Instagram account.
One mural, which sits on a side street near the Bataclan concert hall – the site of a November 2015 terrorist attack that left 90 dead – is etched in black and white and shows a sad-looking figure covered in a veil, gazing downward.
Another wall in the city, near a neighborhood with a large immigrant population, shows a modernized Napoleon who sits on his horse in a billowing red cape that covers up his face.
Banksy posted a photo of this image on Instagram with a caption that reads, “LIBERTÉ, ÉGALITÉ, CABLE TV,” or in English, “Liberty, Equality, Cable TV.”
In true Banksy style, rodents, which have appeared in some of the artist’s previous works, are the models of some of these recent images.
In one piece, a small mouse-like creature with big, round Minnie Mouse ears and her iconic polka dot bow, stands beneath a faded “May 1968” – which marks the uprising in Paris that took place 50 years ago.
The events, which ranged from student occupation protests to general strikes, nearly demolished the government in some of the most violent revolts in Paris’s history.
And in another, a rat couple painted near the corner of a building looks to be staring longingly in the direction of the Eiffel Tower.
One of Banksy’s Instagram posts on Tuesday featured another rodent mural. In a not-so-literal self-portrait, the rodent wears a cloth around its face – keeping its identity anonymous, just like its probable creator – and it clutches a box cutter similar to what Banksy uses to make his stencils.
“Fifty years since the uprising in Paris 1968.The birthplace of modern stencil art,” the caption reads.
Some of the works already have gained critics.
Another mural shows a young black girl standing next to a pile of blankets and teddy bear, looking fearfully over her shoulder as she spray-paints a pink design over a swastika. The image, painted near a closed migrants center, was found around World Refugee Day on June 20. It’s since been vandalized with bright blue paint.
These recent pieces aren’t the first time Banksy has used art to make a statement on migration. He highlighted the Syrian refugee crisis in 2015 with a portrait of Steve Jobs in a migrant camp in Calais, France.
Banksy, the elusive street artist
The work shows the Apple co-founder – whose biological father is Syrian – in a black turtleneck and jeans, carrying an old Macintosh computer and with a sack thrown over his shoulder.
The caption for the mural, written online: “The son of a migrant from Syria.”
