- The point is not just that he's blinded by the flag: He's boldly marching into the void, confident. "wrapped in the flag" is a great saying.
by mr-wendel
4 subcomments
- Rather than try to score points for team X (or against team Y), I'll quote one of my favs. Please generalize as needed to suite your perspective.
"I don't get all choked up about yellow ribbons and American flags. I see them as symbols, and I leave them to the symbol-minded." -George Carlin
by forgotusername6
34 subcomments
- I think it's a reasonable statue. But does anyone else think it's a bit obvious, more so than his other work? Like there is no doubt on the meaning at all, it's all right there on the surface level.
- I misparsed this headline as
(Statue (of a man (blinded by a flag (put up by Banksy)))) in central London
It is intended to be
((Statue (of a man (blinded by a flag))) (put up by Banksy)) in central London
by declan_roberts
3 subcomments
- Things were more fun when they were actually transgressive and not just the established doctrine of those in power.
by CapitalistCartr
2 subcomments
- I have a hardhat, high viz vest, lanyard, and $600 toolbelt because I'm an industrial electrician, but they get me into a lot. My face becomes invisible; I become "The Electrician".
by nickthegreek
3 subcomments
- The piece states that it appears to be molded fiberglass. But is anyone aware of any more in depth analysis of its materials/possible production technique? Was the pillar barren on top before?
by dreambuffer
4 subcomments
- England has a long history producing artwork against some institution, only for that institution to get worse over time. George Orwell wrote about the dangers of authoritarianism and surveillance, and since then the UK government has only ratcheted up their surveillance and authority. They also made a movie called This is England which straightforwardly depicts young English nationalists ruining their lives with nationalism, and 20 years later there are more nationalists in England than at any point after WW2.
Will Banksy's legacy be more or less the same?
by wartywhoa23
7 subcomments
- Banksy's "anonymity" is a total farce at this point, thoroughly supported by those in power.
- It's an interesting piece. Makes one think about all those folks that have a lot of pride and vanity for a place that they had no control over being born in. The luck of the draw.
And very likely had very little to do with the current state of the place. Pride at age 21? Meaningless vanity, like being proud of being born with a silver spoon. Pride at age 80? Sure, if it was a life well-lived.
- Banksy is peak redditor. Masquerading as a free-thinking activist who happens to agree with every talking point of the established media and global bureaucratic regime.
by irthomasthomas
2 subcomments
- Trust HN to turn a banksy into a Rorschach test.
The statue is in Westminster, right by Whitehall. The heart of British government. It depicts a figure in a suit, marching off a ledge, completely blinded by a flag.
Who wears a suit and marches through Westminster under a flag?
- Businessmen? No. Merchants have no country.
- Officials? They wear suits but don't march
- Old-guard politicians? Rarely march or flag-wave with any conviction.
So who are we left with? The populist. The Nigel Farage archetype. The suited firebrand who wrap themselves in nationalist fervor, stoke the rabble, and blindly march everyone right off a cliff.
Banksy isn't known for complex, multi-layered messaging. He is popular precisely because he uses visual shorthand to say plainly what the general public is already thinking. There is no hidden 4D chess; it's just blunt satire about blind patriotism.
Edit: This also explains why the government is happy to keep this particular Banksy on display.
by ivankirigin
1 subcomments
- What is the emblem on the flag? Don't know. What is he fighting for? Don't know. How is he blind? What doesn't he see? What is behind or ahead? Don't know.
Being cynical that all effort is wasted is played out at this point. Fight for something real. Name what you're against. It should be easy in the UK.
- Yeah, definetly had the city agree to it, no way in hell to sneak a statue like that without the cops getting involved.
by daseiner1
1 subcomments
- seems missed in the general commentary that there is also an inherent commentary on the western tradition of “blind justice”
https://i.etsystatic.com/13403651/r/il/40b0bf/6851322246/il_...
by bnksnksnkas
0 subcomment
- Establishment-sanctioned subversion is not subversion, it's propaganda.
- Anyone else leaving up a huge statue in the middle of the park would be arrested
- I wish Banksy put the statue a block away at the roundabout at the end of Pall Mall instead. The current spot he picked already has several other statues there. The roundabout at the end of Pall Mall is empty, presently rather dull, and would look much nicer with a statue.
This is the better spot: https://maps.app.goo.gl/6EmX2jPiaKRNtNtr8 51°30'19.0"N 0°08'16.0"W
- My grandma and your grandma, Were sittin' by the fire.
My grandma told your grandma "I'm gonna set your flag on fire"
by simonebrunozzi
1 subcomments
- I tend to like Banksy a lot, even in things that are different than his "usual" style and type of work (graffiti), as in this case with a statue.
More generally, I am wondering if anyone has a good explanation of what makes an artist "click" with the world, become famous, and usually raise the price of his/her artwork. I can bet that today it costs a lot to own anything by Banksy, considering that most of his work is not even "detachable" from its original creation point.
- It's a little too on the nose, isn't it?
- Had this statue been erected in 2006, it would’ve been an immortal masterpiece. Had it been sculpted in 2016, it would still have been a great statue but flawed. But it was made in 2026. Alas, what can one say?
by periodjet
22 subcomments
- Banksy is the patron saint of the “I’m 13 and this is deep” mentality.
- Countries with non-rectangular flags are meddling hands right now.
by namenotrequired
4 subcomments
- “Attributed to Banksy”? It has his signature and he posted about it on his instagram. What else is needed to confirm the creator?
by yakkomajuri
0 subcomment
- Unfortunately the article doesn't tell us much. I'd have hoped for some footage beyond what was released by the artist.
- "Dress up. Leave a false name. Be legendary. The best Poetic Terrorism is against the law, but don’t get caught. Art as crime; crime as art." -- T.A.Z.: The Temporary Autonomous Zone, Ontological Anarchy, Poetic Terrorism, 1985
The whole piece is great - https://theanarchistlibrary.org/library/hakim-bey-t-a-z-the-...
Or if you have 5 mins to spare, the album version with Bill Laswell is even better - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nt9vMF01Pd8
- Let's just accept that UK art follows the general trajectory of the kingdom
- holding such a large flag with one hand so high up on the pole? could easily be corrected with a lower holding position, two hands. if it did happen, the walking would cease immediately
both the blinding and defiant fist are intentional. there is only one way to die and he controls it
by nickdothutton
5 subcomments
- Remember kids. Don't believe in anything. Don't join anything. Don't give even a small part of yourself up to anything. Don't be part of anything bigger than yourself.
- Kind of shallow “makes you think huh” variety.
- Banksy is very much regime art.
by xyzelement
7 subcomments
- It took me a minute to figure out why I think it's lame.
I suspect that Banksy and his fans are sure that it's "the other" Britons that are blinded, it's not a self-reflection prompt for them. Maybe I am wrong.
Maybe a more powerful piece of art would have that self reflection effect across the board. As is it feels about as nuanced as "fuck trump" and similar. If you already agree you already agree, if not then you just think it's stupid. So ultimately feels like impotent art unless I am totally misunderstanding.
by slopinthebag
4 subcomments
- I doubt Banksy is a single person fwiw.
- This statue might be the best thing he's ever done. I love it.
by nothinkjustai
3 subcomments
- If someone was to deface this statue would they face legal action? It’s kind of an interesting thought, side if it really was just put up without the city’s authority it would be okay, and if it wasn’t it defeats the entire point.
“Rage against the machine” by doing what the machine wants type thing.
by AlexandrB
5 subcomments
- Which flag?
- Statue of a man in a suit walking off a precipice while blinding himself with the flag he is carrying.
https://banksy.co.uk/index.html
- Controlled opposition.
- this is going on since columbus. nothing new
by varispeed
1 subcomments
- It's kind of cheap. Obviously saying "Reform bad." without addressing why so many people think it's not bad. Banksy forgets that humans are humans and do human things.
by slopinthebag
0 subcomment
- Wind bad.
by contingencies
0 subcomment
- This made me think of my favorite quote attributed to Einstein:
Nationalismus ist eine Kinderkrankheit. Er ist die Masern der Menschheit.
"Nationalism is an infantile disease. It is the measles of mankind."
... quote via https://github.com/globalcitizen/taoup
by simianparrot
1 subcomments
- Now colour the flag rainbow colored. Or maybe black, white, green, and red. Or maybe white and red.
Whose flag is blinding whom?
by sourcegrift
1 subcomments
- This seems like more bigotry against marginalized individuals and shouldn't be celebrated. The message here is that (the few) elites helping build a progressive society are doing it wrong.
- Isn’t there coverage on any other site with fewer ads and popups? I could literally barely navigate the article on my phone.
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by Gongo_Emperor
0 subcomment
- [flagged]
- [flagged]
- Ok boomer.
- People are waking up to the decades of
gaslighting and lies about failed immigration. It can't be stopped now. Nobody cares if they are called a "racist" because the word has been overused and is meaningless.
Much of the media relentlessly continues with its gaslighting of course because the establishment wants and needs immigration.
But people know they barely hear English in many parts of England, see high streets full of criminal fronts [0], know that many are a net tax drain, know an increased population is straining services and housing and so on.
It's about failed immigration - regardless if they're from Poland or from Pakistan.
It is ironically many on the left who are stupid and manipulated by the presence of some far right loons, which gives them a convenient excuse to listen to nobody except themselves. They are blinded by their own smugness and have been manipulated by the pro-immigration establishment sadly
[0] https://www.tradingstandards.uk/media/3183107/hidden-in-plai...
- Who decides that this is from Banksy? I could make a stencil graffiti in my village and claim it's from Banksy and noone could prove me wrong. Or is he using a digital signature as proof of authorship?
- He definitely got a permit for that which makes the whole thing even more laughable
by ignoramous
1 subcomments
- Despite the denials, the answer is most likely this was all coordinated with LEAs.
Some artists have questioned if Banksy, once considered anti-establishment, now enjoys special treatment from Britain's powers that be.
In 2014, Vice Media asked: 'Why Is Banksy the Only Person Allowed to Vandalize Britain’s Walls?' The story quoted David Speed, a street artist who ran a British graffiti collective. "It's very much one rule for him and another rule for everyone else ... When street artists do it, it's vandalism. When Banksy does it, it's an art piece."
Contacted by Reuters, Speed praised Banksy as "a really important artist of modern times." Yet he still wonders why "one artist should be able to have carte blanche and everyone else would be subject to penalties."
In Search of Banksy, https://www.reuters.com/investigates/special-report/global-a... (2026).
by everfrustrated
6 subcomments
- The idea that Banksy's identity is unknown is a complete myth perpuated by the popular press.
The guy is well known and very much part of the establishment.
- So anyone can now place whatever they want in public space in UK or some people like Banksy are more equal than the other people? I find this statue offensive for double standards.
This should go quickly away unless they confirm he had official permit and he is just "anti-establishment" hipster.
by WhereIsTheTruth
1 subcomments
- For some unknown reasons, the mainstream media wants to make sure i see this
Baby, psyop me, one more time
by MrBuddyCasino
3 subcomments
- Really makes you think. I guess Palestine and Ukraine should just give up.
- This Bansky guy is the edgy middle schooler art
by cineticdaffodil
1 subcomments
- The final desperate shivers of a dying worldview, thats financially and socially so detached from the rest of the nation they couldn't even grasp when they got colonized.
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