Banksy goes undercover to create new street art and satirical film in Gaza

Watch Banksy's short film below
Street art: A kitten painted by Banksy during an undercover trip to Gaza (Picture: Banksy.co.uk)
Robin de Peyer27 February 2015

Street artist Banksy has gone undercover in Gaza to make a short documentary about the war-torn region.

The elusive graffiti artist appears to have created several new works in the region after apparently entering through underground tunnels.

In a short clip posted on his website, a hooded Banksy re-emerges through a metal door into a neighbourhood which appears to have been devastated by war.

The video then shows him using stencils and spray paint to create graffiti artwork in the region, which has been the epicentre of severe conflict between Israel and Palestine.

Niobe: the cowering figure apparently showing a Greek mythological figure (Picture: Banksy.co.uk)
Banksy

Among the works created is "Bomb damage", a cut out apparently showing mythical Greek figure Niobe cowering with her head in her hands amid a pile of rubble.

Another shows a kitten with a pink bow around its neck playing with a metal ball.

A caption on Banksy's website read: "A local man came up and said 'Please - what does this mean?' I explained I wanted to highlight the destruction in Gaza by posting photos on my website – but on the internet people only look at pictures of kittens."

Child's play: A stencil cut out showing children swinging around a military tower (Picture: Banksy.co.uk)

Another of the creations shows children using a military checkpoint as a fairground ride.

Its caption reads: "Gaza is often described as 'the world's largest open air prison' because no-one is allowed to enter or leave. But that seems a bit unfair to prisons - they don’t have their electricity and drinking water cut off randomly almost every day."

Banksy's latest work in Gaza comes after around 2,100 Palestinians and 72 Israelis died during a bloody conflict last year, according to UN estimates.

The satirical film is framed as a travel advert and opens with the caption: "Make sure YOU discover a new destination. Welcome to Gaza".

It ends with the message, painted onto a wall, which reads: "If we wash our hands of the conflict between the powerful and the powerless we side with the powerful - we don't remain neutral."

Banksy's West Bank street art

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The video, uploaded to his official website, is not the first time Banksy has used street art to make statements on the Israel-Palestine conflict.

In 2005, he created a series of striking artworks in the region including one in which a crack in the wall separating the West Bank from Israel revealed a painted paradise of palm tress, turquoise sea and a sandy beach.

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