Banksy is above all an enormous narrative, which is created by his risk-taking and the many different themes he touches on. There is a lot more to say about what makes Banksy’s overall narrative so captivating; the following is just a quick reflection on his most common subjects:
- Religion: Toxic Mary, Silent Night, Forgive us our trespassing, Christ with shopping bags, The Walled Off Hotel is located in Bethlehem. The Alternativity Play, the Cardinal sculpture, Flying Copper, etc.
- Anti-war and weapon industry: Applause, Precision Bombing, Golf Sale, Gold Flag, The Ukrainian pieces, etc.
- Police brutality: The Rodney King piece, I fought the Law, etc.
- Anti-imperialism: The Walled Off Museum, Gold Flag, Zehra Dougan, etc.
- Big Brother society: the many CCTV related motives.
- Anti-materialism: Tesco, Very Little Helps, The Lifestyle you bought, etc
- The celebrity cult and tabloid press: The Cinderella Castle at Dismaland
- Art-establishment: Morons, the shredding at Sotheby’s, etc.
- Love: Girl with Balloon, Kissing Coppers
- Philosophy: Girl with Balloon, Everything you do echoes in eternity, etc.
- Humour: No Ballgames, Achoo, the Spraycation blitz.
- Refugees. The Calais blitz in 2015, the Mediterranean Seaview, The Refugee boats at Dismaland, etc.
- Ecology: Stop Esso, Dismaland, etc.
- HBQT: Kissing Coppers, Beanfield, Queen Vic
- Caricatures: Banksquiat, Kate Moss, Soup Can, the Crude Oil pieces, etc.
Maybe the religious theme is the most surprising for an artist with roots in graffiti. Let’s have a look at some of the artwork with explicit Christian references:
One can only speculate; one possibility is that Banksy comes from a religious background but became an atheist in his adult life.
Banksy unofficial 