Islington Tree Mural – Banksy

I have never before and it is unlikely that I ever will again be in close travelling proximity to a recently unveiled Banksy (St Patrick’s Day, in Hornsey Road, Finsbury Park, North London) so I thought I would take this rare opportunity to upload this although I obviously do not own it (together with the fact that I can get a jump on an April upload for which I would have had difficulty in finding something appropriate). There is some relevance to comics which I will come to.

As I was within fifty yards of the work I could detect a party atmosphere milling around the work. There were seniors there and toddlers and every age group in between, pets, people sketching or painting a representation of the artwork in their drawing pads, and the expected group of people lining up to take selfies with the mural in the background. The guy living in the bottom flat in the building adjoining the mural was relishing the publicity as it seemed all the world was watching – it seemed to be a scene of unalloyed joy and happiness, and it was very civilised with everyone patiently waiting for their turn in front of the painting. I would liken it to what it must have been like for the residents of London at the end of the first chapter of V for Vendetta when after years of abhorrent, repressive fascist rule the Londoners are treated to a spectacular fireworks display on November 5th and the sky is lit up with the letter V, as a portent for the future.

In the past I thought of Banksy as a mildly amusing, inventive, skilful artist. Although not amusing, inventive and skilful enough to get me to buy any reproductions of his work or any of the books about him. However, last summer BBC Radio broadcast a series narrated and presented by James Peak called The Banksy Story. It is still available on BBC Sounds as a podcast in the UK – I recommend it highly. The radio series is entertaining, informative and very very funny and my respect and admiration for the artist increased considerably. I realised a lot of work, craftsmanship, and planning goes into his creations. A few episodes into the then-ten-part series and I was beginning to detect very strong similarities between Banksy and the character of V in V for Vendetta. They are both individuals of “wealth and taste”; additionally they are political activists who come, perpetrate a subversive act, then vanish; they both love showmanship; the people who dislike them tend to be the conservative (small “c”) and/or the establishment; and no-one knows who they really are or what they really look like.

When I attended my first comic convention back in 1986 I remember one moment when David Lloyd was doing a walkabout on the convention floor and a number of us had gathered around him. It was so pure and innocent in those days that none of us were pestering him to sign our copies of Warrior magazine or to draw a convention sketch; we were just chatting amiably. In the course of this the inevitable question arose from us which was, “Who is V?” David Lloyd replied, if I remember this correctly, that it was not so very important as to who V is; what is more important is what he represents. At the time I must have thought this a bit of a cop-out, but on reflection it means everything. V will pass and one day Banksy’s true identity may be revealed but it is the values that they stand for and the message that they put across that will endure. The mystery as to their true identity is a bit of a McGuffin to arouse publicity, generate interest and if that is what it takes to further the cause then all well and good.

There have been a number of theories as to who Banksy is but three of the more popular suspects are someone called Robin Gunningham, the musician Robert Del Naja, and another name bandied about is comics artist Jamie Hewlett. When else am I going to have a chance to show off my photograph of Jamie Hewlett (who really knows how to strike a pose for a photo)? especially as there is as much chance of me owning an original Jamie Hewlett as there is of my owning an original Banksy (or should that be the other way around considering the direction in which Jamie Hewlett OA seems to be going?).

Normally I like to reply to all comments left on my CAF uploads but even though you are welcome to comment on this occasion I do not think it would be appropriate for me to reply as the work is most definitely not something I own. Although having said that it might also be claimed that it is owned by everyone. Banksy, as the radio programme stated, is very democratic and his public art should be able to be viewed by everyone. This particular tree mural is even more site specific than his works normally are and cannot be removed by bolt cutters or angle grinders, and in this sense it is the embodiment of Nick Barucci’s “sharing is caring” dictum and the whole Comic Art Fans community ethos. Long may Banksy agitate and his identity remain secret.