Iconic graffiti artist Banksy travelled to Gaza recently to?produce a?two minute Public Service Announcement that opens more like a travel commercial, with a splash screen depicting an airplane in flight and the words,
“Make this the year YOU discover a new destination.”
The video quickly transitions to a screen that says,
“Welcome to Gaza”
After that, the peaceful nature of the video shifts dramatically to an opening door that leads to an underground tunnel, requiring the artist to crawl on hands and knees through debris and rubble. Words scrolling across the screen?inform viewers that the tunnel is,
“Well away from the beaten path” and that “(Access is via a network of illegal tunnels).”
Upon arriving at his destination, he enters the war-torn landscape of Gaza amidst citizens, many of them children, struggling to survive. The film continues, with poignant messages scrolling across the screen, at first seeming upbeat and positive, in the mode of the travel commercial. The truth then splashes across the screen to alert the viewer that it is far from sunshine and roses in Gaza.
While there, Banksy managed to leave a few of his works of art amidst the rubble. The oddest thing he completed was a large painting of a kitten, sad, on a battered wall that used to be a whole building. When asked by a local man about the kitten and why he painted it, Banksy replied,
?I wanted to highlight the destruction in Gaza by posting photos on my website ? but on the internet people only look at pictures of kittens.?
Banksy is well known for his art and the political statements incorporated into his world-wide canvas. He has, once again, managed to capture an international audience to bring attention to the tragedy that is Gaza.
