Banksy's paint bombs

Banksy – still anonymous - is today probably the most famous of living graffiti artists. Using the stencilling technique his works have often a political, social touch, but mostly with some sense of more or less dark humour. In December 2013, there was a rumour that he had been around in Paris and I wrote about it here – however it was never really confirmed and the few illustrations which were in doubt soon disappeared.

Now it seems that he has really been around in Paris and that he even has confirmed this. He may have illustrated some ten walls. I have so far found six.

The mouse which is riding on the champagne cork is to be found on the northern slopes of Montmartre, Rue Mont Cenis (Paris 18). We can see that someone (who, which organisation?) has protected the champagne bottle by a plastic screen. There is obviously a similar illustration also somewhere in the Marais district.

No protection had been done with this already destroyed design of a young girl hiding a swastika by using a paint bomb. It has been here, Boulevard Ney (Paris 18), only a few days, but is already destroyed by vandals. I stole a picture on the net. This painting is also what you find on the opening page of Banksy’s own site.

A third one refers to J-L David’s painting of Napoleon passing the Alps, but is obviously also touching the subject of wearing or not wearing of niqabs. This one has been protected and you can find it on Avenue de Flandre (Paris 19).

A fourth one was rather impossible to photograph because of the reflecting Plexiglas which is protecting it. Well, I prefer to show a photo I found on the net rather than to see this illustration, a mourning girl, destroyed. It’s to be found on a back door of the Bataclan Theatre, through which a number of people, who were present during the November 2015 attack, managed to escape. (I - of course - blogged about this, e.g. here and here.)

This one, protected, is to be found Rue Maître-Albert (Paris 5) and refers to 1968 and it seems that Banksy, when confirming that he has been present in Paris, also referred to 1968 as the year of the creation, in Paris, of stencil art.   

The last one I have found – so far – has obviously an anti-capitalistic message - a “businessman” in a suit is offering a bone to a dog, obviously after first having used a saw… You can find this one on Rue Victor-Cousin (Paris 5), just round the corner of Place de la Sorbonne.  (It seems to have been protected, but the protection has disappeared.)

The top picture is a little detail of the destroyed painting on Boulevard Ney.