No future

Banksy is an anonymous graffiti artist. His works with political and social messages belong to the cities, streets, and walls, but yet some of them are destroyed and painted over, and some of them are sold at auctions for millions of dollars.

In this article, we will discuss those of his works that speak out about the natural problems of humanity.

Cameraman and Flower

Cameraman and Flower appeared on the wall of a Park City coffee shop in the lead-up to the premiere of Banksy’s film at Sundance in 2010. It represents how far people are willing to go to preserve the beauty, but it often leads to its destruction as in this case where the cameraman has uprooted the flower in order to film it.

Many species of animals and plants were destroyed by men. In the pursuit of their beauty, people destroyed hundreds and thousands of them. Poaching has been and remains one of the main reasons for the populations’ decline. At this rate, humanity can completely lose many species of living organisms forever.

I Remember When All This Was Trees

This work is not only about the trees, but also about the problem of destruction of nature in general: degradation of the environment, extinction of flora and fauna. All of this is due to the destruction of their natural habitats and urbanization. But here it is not just a building, it is an abandoned, no longer used area. There are millions of similar places around the world that have been in this state for years, and all the trees were destroyed for nothing.

Before the “I Remember When All This Was Trees” appeared on the derelict Packard automotive plant, there had been ongoing debates over who was responsible for the costs of cleaning up the abandoned site. After Banksy's visit, the arguments continued, but on a different occasion — disputes broke out over the ownership of the abandoned plant and the painting. This work was eventually removed and now can be seen on display at Gallery 555.

I Don’t Believe in Global Warming

Each of us knows and understands the concept of global warming, the main cause of which is, definitely, people.

The words appeared on a wall by Regent’s Canal (close to Oval Bridge) and dipped below the waterline. This simple and yet provocative piece is Banksy’s comment on climate change denial, on all organized attempts to belittle its value, reject its existence, its danger, or the fact of humans’ activities’ impact on it.

Public opinion on global warming has suffered because of the incorrect media coverage of this climate change and campaigns, which undermined people’s confidence in science. Another reason the public is skeptical about climate change is the lack of knowledge about the problem, which is the reason for the public's low concern and governments’ inaction around the world.

References and further reading

1. «Banksy | Graffiti»
https://banksy.newtfire.org/html/graffiti.html
2. «Работы Бэнкси» (2019, 20 Июн)
https://crossarea.ru/street-art/works/banksy-works/

Author: Naimanbayeva Dayana

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