MY ART – 2026

WASSILY KANDINSKY
Wassily Kandinsky, born in Moscow in 1866, influenced an entire generation of artists in Germany and France with his personal artistic approach by the age of thirty. He began studying law at Moscow University early on and distinguished himself with various writings and a dissertation on social issues. After declining a professorship at an Estonian university, he moved to Munich and, in 1900, began studying under Franz von Stuck at the Munich Academy of Fine Arts. Just a few years later, he was teaching at a private art school.
Kandinsky devoted considerable intellectual effort to exploring the “spiritual dimension of art,” which led him to contact the Berlin Secession in 1902. This artists’ association included painters such as Klimsch, Leistikow, Liebermann, Slevogt, Corinth, Beckmann, Barlach, and Feininger. The art world during this period was characterized by a focus on paintings of nature, but also by shifts towards abstraction, resulting in inevitable divergences and differences regarding what was considered worthy of exhibition. Consequently, in 1906, he founded and exhibited with the group “Die Brücke” in Dresden. In 1907, he founded the “Neue Künstlervereinigung” (New Artists’ Association) in Munich, from which—with Franz Marc as a pioneer and leading figure—the group “Der Blaue Reiter” (The Blue Rider) emerged. Trips to Paris and Italy brought Kandinsky into contact with the stylistic trends there, with Cubism and Fauvism, and contributed to his thinking increasingly focusing on the substantial question of modern art, namely the function of the image in a world consumed by materialism.
All conventional artistic means seemed to him insufficiently immaterial to transcend the materiality of reality. For Kandinsky, only music could overcome this materiality without relying on representational forms. His paintings became increasingly abstract, leading to a distinct new focus on nuanced color palettes and rhythmic forms. Exhibitions of his work in Munich, Zurich, the USA, and Moscow attest to the restless, yet always agile and innovative artist, also in search of self-discovery. After periods in Moscow and Berlin, he moved to Weimar in 1922 and, at the invitation of Walter Gropius, became a teacher at the Bauhaus there. He met other important artists such as Lyonel Feininger, and together with Paul Klee and the Russian painter Jawlensky, he founded the artists’ group “The Blue Four.”
When the Bauhaus closed in 1933, Kandinsky moved to Paris. There, he met other important artists such as Robert Delaunay, Fernand Léger, Joan Miró, Piet Mondrian, and Hans Arp. In 1937, the Nazis defamed his work. Over 57 paintings were confiscated and removed from German museums.

1. DELICATE TENSION No. 85, 1923 (Zarte Spannung Delicate Tension)
WASSILY KANDINSKY (1866-1944)
Abstract Expressionism. Watercolour and ink on paper.


Ink and coloured pencils on Arches drawing paper.

Delicate Tension was executed by Kandinsky at the Bauhaus during the prestigious school’s most rationalist period under the directorship of Theo van Doesburg, from 1923 to 1925. During these years, the initial Expressionistic style of this avant-garde centre evolved towards greater commitment to the Constructivist aesthetic, which was spreading internationally. Kandinsky delved more deeply in his investigation of the correspondences between forms and colours, and the geometric shapes found in his works from this period, which is sometimes described as “cold, ” are basically the circle and the triangle, which he considered to be “the two primary, most strongly contrasting plane figures.”
The abstract painter Rudolf Bauer (1889–1953), who belonged to the circle of the Der Sturm gallery in Berlin, acquired the present watercolour in 1929, through the Galerie Ferdinand Möller, and a few years later, in 1936, it passed to Baroness Hilla Rebay. In 1930, Rebay, who was involved in a relationship with Bauer, established the non-Objective private art museum in Berlin called Das Geistreich (The realm of the spirit), closed by the Nazis in 1937, where his exhibition Werke von Kandinsky und Bauer was shown in 1932. After emigrating to the United States, she became the director and curator of the new Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation and the organiser of the exhibition entitled The Solomon R. Guggenheim Collection of Non-Objective Paintings at the Gibbes Memorial Art Gallery in Charleston, which included the present watercolour as part of the Guggenheim collection, to which it belonged from 1936 to 1971.
Presently in the Museo Nacional Thyssen-Bornemisza in Madrid, Spain.

2. KOMPOSTION VIII 1923
WASSILY KANDINSKY
Geometric abstraction. Oil on canvas 201 cm x 140 cm (55.1 x 79.!”)


Ink and coloured pencils on Arches drawing paper

The audience was quite shocked by the transition from the apocalyptic emotion of Composition VII to the geometric rhythm of Composition VIII. “Composition VIII” was painted ten years later, in 1923. It is a logical development of the creative genius of the painter, and to a certain extent, it reflects the influence of Suprematism and Constructivism assimilated by Kandinsky in Russia and in the Bauhaus.
Presently in the Guggenheim in New York City.

3. Several Circles 1927
Oil on canvas. 55 3/8 x 55 1/4 inches (140.7 x 140.3 cm)
Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York,
While at the Weimar Bauhaus, he was in a more sympathetic environment in which to pursue his art. Originally premised on a Germanic, expressionistic approach to artmaking, the Bauhaus aesthetic came to reflect Constructivist concerns and styles, which by the mid-1920s had become international in scope. While there, Kandinsky furthered his investigations into the correspondence between colours and forms and their psychological and spiritual effects. In Composition 8, the colourful, interactive geometric forms create a pulsating surface that is alternately dynamic and calm, aggressive and quiet. The importance of circles in this painting prefigures the dominant role they would play in many subsequent works, culminating in his cosmic and harmonious image, Several Circles. “The circle,” claimed Kandinsky, “is the synthesis of the greatest oppositions. It combines the concentric and the eccentric in a single form and in equilibrium. Of the three primary forms, it points most clearly to the fourth dimension.”

1. THE GREAT WAVE OFF KANAGAWA 1830
HOKUSAI wood block print 14.6″ wide
Also known as The Great Wave or simply The Wave, it is a woodblock print by the Japanese ukiyo-e artist Hokusai.
It was published sometime between 1829 and 1833 in the late Edo period as the first print in Hokusai’s series Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji. It is Hokusai’s most famous work and is often considered the most recognizable in Japanese art. One of art history’s most iconic images, it is now among the world’s most widely reproduced images, appearing on posters, mugs, shirts and fridge magnets.
It depicts three fishing boats battling raging seas in Japan’s Chiba Prefecture. It is part of a genre known as “Ukiyo-3” that saw artists mass-produce works on paper using woodblock printing. Likely, several thousand prints were initially produced, but only a fraction are thought to have survived. Printmakers would have produced prints until the woodblocks literally wore out. Possibly 8000 were made. There is photographic evidence of 111 different versions. They were not always as sought-after as they are today.
The British Museum has three original prints.
A rare print fetched a record $2.76 million at a Christy’s auction in New York. Listed under its full name, “Kanagawa oki nami ura (Under the well of the Great Wave off Kanagawa),” the item was acquired by the previous owner’s family in the early 1900s and was once exhibited at the Glyptotek art museum in Copenhagen. This one is described in the auction house’s catalogue as a “well-preserved” early print that ranks “beyond doubt among the 20 or so best impressions surviving today.” Christie’s had initially estimated bids between $500,000 and $700,000.
Other copies auctioned by Christie’s in recent years have ranged in price from a few hundred thousand dollars to over $1.5 million.


Ink and coloured pencils on Arches drawing paper

BANKSY
Arguably the most controversial street artist in the world, Banksy’s works have become a subculture in their own right. Banksy’s political statements and disruptive vision have impacted cities across the globe at vital moments in modern history, provoking alternative viewpoints and encouraging revolution in the art world.

His identity remained unknown, even after more than 30 years of involvement in the global graffiti scene. He has worked in many street art mediums and in many styles, breaking down the boundaries and expectations of street art critics. His work includes powerful, often controversial images, encouraging the rapid spread of his name and work across the internet. Today, his iconic works have been re-shared and repurposed beyond measure.
At the age of 18, Banksy was nearly caught vandalizing public spaces by the police. Banksy noticed stencil letters sprayed onto a truck, and, as he had been looking for a faster way to paint at the time, he decided stencilling would be his new graffiti style.
Banksy’s works often take the form of multi-layered stencils combined with other media sources. He sometimes includes objects that already exist on his chosen ‘canvas,’ such as street signs and fire hydrants, to turn his work into striking street art installations. His artwork is often satirical, combining dark humour with messages about art, philosophy, and politics.
By the early 2000s, his international work was taking off. He travelled to Palestine and the West Bank, where he stencilled nine now-iconic images onto the newly-erected West Bank Wall, including ‘Love is in the Air.’ These images were an instant hit and exploded online.
As Banksy’s work gained notoriety, he transitioned from local fame to international acclaim. Key exhibitions and provocative street installations solidified his status as one of the most influential artists of his generation. His art caught the attention of media outlets, which amplified his message and expanded the reach of his work beyond the streets into galleries worldwide.
Iconic pieces like “Girl with Balloon” and “Rage, the Flower Thrower” became synonymous with his name, captivating audiences with their poignant messages and stunning imagery. Banksy’s ability to blend humor, pathos, and political commentary ensured that his work would resonate across diverse cultures, establishing him as a pivotal figure in contemporary art.
At this time, Banksy’s silkscreen prints and stencil paintings were racking up record-breaking sales in storied art auctions such as Sotheby’s and Bonhams of London. These successful sales marked Banksy’s dramatic entry into the commercial art world. In 2010, Banksy assumed the role of author and filmmaker for his film ‘Exit Through the Gift Shop.’
Who is Banksy? Very little is known about Banksy himself, as he refuses to be interviewed and carefully maintains his anonymity. A world-renowned mystery man, street art fanatics are consistently impressed by the far-reaching scope, variety, and bravery of every artwork he delivers, but are always left wanting more. This tactic encourages viewers to explore a completely new perspective or idea, often inspiring both amateur and professional artists. This inspiration is also known as the “Banksy Effect.”
Most recently, many sources have suggested he was the Bristol native, Robin Gunninham.

Banksy artwork
In October 2013, Banksy undertook a month-long residency in New York entitled ‘Better Out Than In.’ During this time, he unveiled a new piece of work every day. On Day 13, the artist disguised himself as a typical street vendor and set up a stand in Central Park, where he sold black-and-white original paintings for $60. Only eight pieces of art were sold. The following day, Banksy authenticated those eight canvases on his website, alongside the message: “Yesterday I set up a stall in the park selling 100% authentic original signed Banksy canvases. For $60 each”. A year later, ‘Winnie the Pooh’, purchased during Banksy’s New York residency, sold for £56,250 on July 2nd, 2014 at Bonhams in London.
In the summer of 2015, Banksy opened the dystopian theme park Dismaland in the seaside resort of Weston-super-Mare. Prepared entirely in secret, the project unveiled 10 new works by Banksy as well as works from 58 other artists.
Banksy went on to participate in the design of the Walled Off Hotel in Bethlehem in 2017, opposite the Israeli West Bank Barrier. With nine rooms designed by Banksy himself, guests could literally sleep inside a work of art. Originally intended as a temporary and provocative piece of installation art, the Walled Off Hotel rapidly became a top tourist attraction. Alongside the spot on which Jesus was reputedly born, a traditional pilgrimage site, the controversial 700 km-long wall is now a surprising tourist site.
Banksy’s relationship with tourism is a complex one; while he often stimulates it, he also regularly denounces it because of its negative effects. To criticise the mass tourism that is endangering the Italian city of Venice at the Biennale in 2019, Banksy unveiled ‘Venice in Oil,’ a series of nine oil paintings which, when placed together, depict a large cruise ship. 
In October 2018, a painting by the anonymous street artist sold at Sotheby’s auction house in London for £1.04 million. Shortly after the hammer came down, the print of Banksy’s 2006 ‘Girl with Balloon’ began to pass through a shredder installed in the frame, destroying half of it. “It appears we just got Banksy-ed,” reported Alex Branczik, Sotheby’s Senior Director and Head of Contemporary Art in Europe. The piece was a famous Banksy print known as ‘Girl with Balloon’ created back in 2006. Banksy’s balloon girl, which was voted UK’s best-loved work of art in 2017, became the first instance of a self-destructing painting. Banksy posted a video to his Instagram account to confirm the move was intentional and demonstrate how he built a shredding device into the large golden frame. The work was then given a new title: “Love is in the Bin“.

In October 2019, another Banksy artwork took the country by storm. Amidst the political controversy at the time, Banksy released ‘Devolved Parliament,’ a painting that depicts the House of Commons overtaken by apes. It sold at Sotheby’s for an astonishing £9.9 million, making it the most expensive Banksy painting sold to date. In typical Banksy fashion, he responded to the sale on Instagram with a line from Robert Hughes: “But the price of a work of art is now part of its function, its new job is to sit on the wall and get more expensive.”
In a characteristically charitable move, Banksy donated a series of three paintings to auction in 2020, entitled ‘Mediterranean Sea View’, to raise money for a hospital in Bethlehem. The oil paintings were in a detailed, traditional style that had grown more prominent in Banksy’s work around this time. Of course, the stunning landscapes came with a Banksy twist: life jackets washed up on the shore, intended to highlight the growing European migrant crisis.
Banksy’s ability to consistently break and challenge his own records continued to amaze the art market when, in October 2020, Banksy’s reinterpretation of Monet’s famous waterlilies, entitled ‘Show Me The Monet’ sold at auction for £7.5 million. This made it the second most expensive of his works to sell at auction. The piece was part of a series of remixed masterpieces and commented on the threat that society’s wasteful consumerism poses to the natural world.
In response to the global Coronavirus pandemic in 2020, Banksy hung a brand-new black and white artwork, depicting a young boy playing with a ‘superhero’ NHS nurse doll, in the foyer of Southampton General Hospital. He released a statement thanking the NHS for their work and hoping that the painting brightened up the hospital. The piece was later titled ‘Game Changer.’ On the one-year anniversary of the UK entering into lockdown, ‘Game Changer’ sold at auction for £16.8 million, with all proceeds donated to the NHS. This price far exceeded all expectations and firmly secured this piece as the most expensive Banksy ever sold.
Banksy’s artistic endeavours continue to take him around the world. Artworks have cropped up in Australia, France, Italy, the United States, Canada, Jamaica, and Israel, and are instantly protected and revered.

The West Bank Barrier Murals
The West Bank Barrier Murals represent a poignant intersection of art and political commentary, with Banksy’s work illuminating the complex realities of life in Palestine. These murals serve as powerful visual statements that challenge perceptions and provoke thought about conflict and resistance.

Significance of Location. The West Bank Barrier, commonly referred to as the “Apartheid Wall” by critics, is a series of concrete walls and fences separating Israeli and Palestinian territories. This controversial structure has profound implications for the people living in the region. Banksy chose this location deliberately, understanding the symbolic weight it carries. By placing his art in such a charged environment, he emphasizes the stark realities and frustrations experienced by Palestinians.
The placement of art in this area transforms a site of division into a canvas for dialogue. It compels viewers to confront the harsh realities of occupation and the daily struggles for freedom and justice. As such, the murals become a form of resistance, challenging viewers not only to observe but to engage with the pressing issues at hand.
Girl with Balloon: This poignant piece depicts a young girl reaching out toward a red heart-shaped balloon, symbolizing hope and loss.
Rage, the Flower Thrower: A protester throwing a bouquet instead of a weapon critiques violence and promotes the message of peace through creativity.
Love is in the Bin: This work gained notoriety after self-destructing during a live auction, challenging notions of value and ownership in contemporary art.
In October 2018, a painting by the anonymous street artist sold at Sotheby’s auction house in London for £1.04 million. Shortly after the hammer came down, the print of Banksy’s 2006 ‘Girl with Balloon’ began to pass through a shredder installed in the frame, destroying half of it. “It appears we just got Banksy-ed,” reported Alex Branczik, Sotheby’s Senior Director and Head of Contemporary Art in Europe.

The piece was a famous Banksy print known as ‘Girl with Balloon’, created back in 2006. Banksy’s balloon girl, which was voted the UK’s best-loved work of art in 2017, became the first instance of a self-destructing painting. Banksy posted a video to his Instagram account to confirm the move was intentional and demonstrate how he built a shredding device into the large golden frame. The work was then given a new title: “Love is in the Bin“. In October 2019, another Banksy artwork took the country by storm.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_works_by_Banksy
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_works_by_Banksy_that_have_been_damaged_or_destroyed

1. Festival (Destroy Capitalism) 2006
Festival, also known as Destroy Capitalism, depicts a group of people at a music festival queuing up to buy t-shirts. They are clearly portrayed as punks, goths and hippies attending some sort of music festival with clothes, haircuts and attitudes representative of those subcultures. They represent what society might consider as anti-capitalists or “outsiders.” However, they queue up to buy a $30 t-shirt, just like the rest of society – illustrating the power that capitalism holds even for its most fervent opponents.

Festival can also be read as an ironic comment on how independent and anti-globalization events, like alternative music festivals, for example, have now become hypocritical versions of themselves – contradicting the very thing their attendees cry out against. The irony of the work unintentionally reached its climax in 2013, however, when Walmart – the American multinational retail corporation which is the very embodiment of capitalism – sold a series of Festival at a markup through their online marketplace (without asking Banksy for permission to use the imagery, to boot).
Release History. 
Festival is one of six prints belonging to the Barely Legal Print Set, which also includes GranniesTrolleysMoronsApplause, and Sale Ends. Festival was originally released at Barely Legal as an edition of 100 unsigned prints, printed by Modern Multiples, that sold for $500 a piece.

2. Girl with Balloon 2002
There Is Always Hope… With its striking simplicity and raw immediacy, Girl with Balloon is now one of the most widely recognizable images created by Banksy. Beating Turner’s The Fighting Temeraire, Constable’s The Hay Wain and Hockney’s A Bigger Splash to the top spot, Banksy’s Girl with Balloon was voted UK’s favorite artwork in a 2017 poll; a resounding affirmation of the broad and wide-reaching popularity of this undeniably iconic and culturally formidable image.
Girl with Balloon first appeared as an original graffiti mural first painted outside a Shoreditch shop in 2002 and later at London’s Southbank that very same year, this time accompanied by the epitaph “There is Always Hope”.

Girl with Balloon, Waterloo Bridge, South Bank, London, 2002
Girl with Balloon depicts a small child rendered in black and white who reaches out towards a bright red, heart-shaped balloon dangling from a string. Like most Banksy’s works, the image is an ambiguous one, leaving the viewer to decipher whether the girl is reaching out to catch the balloon (a vibrant emblem of childhood delight) or rather has let it slip from her fingers and is watching in anguish as it drifts into oblivion. This could be interpreted as a metaphor, perhaps, for the inevitable loss of childhood and innocence. The red balloon, as the only spot of colour, is an archetypal symbol of childhood and freedom that many of us connect with. More than a simple child’s toy, it evokes the fragility of what it stands for: innocence, dreams, hope, and love.
Well-loved by the public and collectors alike, her heartbreaking gesture is iconic and easily understandable – making this one of the most recognizable artworks of the 21st century. Universally appealing, Banksy’s graffiti image is a perfect encapsulation of human emotion in the short attention span of our social media age.
The Girl with Balloon imagery has been featured heavily and revisited often during Banksy’s career. A series of prints was released in 2004, and various editions on canvas and originals on various media have been produced over the years.
Striking in its simplicity, Banksy also used the global notoriety of Girl With Balloon to impact the world with strong social commentaries. The artist created variations to support social campaigns: in 2005 on the West Bank Barrier; in 2014 to draw attention to the Syrian refugee crisis; and in 2017 during the UK General Election.
In 2018, a framed Girl with Balloon spontaneously shredded after the bidding closed on a lot at Sotheby’s by way of a mechanical device Banksy had hidden in the frame. Banksy confirmed that he was indeed responsible for the shredding and gave the altered piece a new name, Love Is In The Bin. Sotheby’s said it was “the first work in history ever created during a live auction.”
Girl with Balloon
3.
3. Love Is In The Air (Flower Thrower) 2003.
In the realm of contemporary art, few images resonate as profoundly as Banksy’s Love Is in the Air. Also known as Flower Thrower, this artwork encapsulates the paradox of aggression and peace, revolution and love. Originating as a piece of guerrilla street art, it has since transcended its medium to become a global emblem of nonviolent resistance.
An archetypal example of Banksy’s perceptive and stimulating commentaries on contemporary political and social events, Love is in the Air is one of the most recognizable works by the brilliant graffiti artist and offers a simple message of hope. Love is in the Air has been imitated and replicated countless times as a testament to its visual strength and power. It is indisputable that this bold and powerful work helped to establish Banksy’s place in art history, cementing his reputation as a pivotal and universally heard artistic voice.
In its original guerrilla iteration in Beit Sahour near the West Bank Barrier, Love is in the Air testifies to Banksy’s unique ability to activate urban environments and public architecture in a way that supercharges his message, lending his images a searing immediacy which extends far beyond all those who live in or visit the region, juxtaposing the active gesture of protest with the reconciliatory symbol of a Flower Bouquet.
In 2003, amidst the escalating tensions surrounding the construction of the West Bank Wall, Banksy unveiled Love is in the Air on the side of a garage in Beit Sahour, a Palestinian town east of Bethlehem, close to the Israeli West Bank Barrier. A 708-kilometre wall controlled by a series of checkpoints and observation towers, the Israeli West Bank Barrier separates Israel from the West Bank territories of Palestine.
The mural portrays a masked protester poised to hurl a bouquet of flowers, replacing the expected Molotov cocktail with a symbol of peace.This juxtaposition serves as a poignant commentary on the power of peaceful protest in the face of oppression.​
Since “Love is in the Air,” the West Bank barrier wall has become a particular focus for Banksy. Over the years, multiple works have sprung up in the region: notably his 2005 take on his iconic Girl with Balloon, depicting a young girl being lifted over the wall by a bunch of balloons. In 2017, Banksy designed the Walled Off Hotel, with a view of the barrier, to boost tourism in the area while simultaneously highlighting the ongoing conflict.
Love is in the Air
4. Lady Showering (Woman Showering, Shower Peepers, Peeping Tom Boys) 2015
Lady Showering is a satirical, stenciled piece that highlights the themes of surveillance, privacy, and voyeurism.The artwork is interpreted as a critique on the erosion of personal privacy and the rise of a “surveillance culture” in modern society, where individuals are constantly being watched. It combines dark humor with the artist’s signature stencil style.

5. Girl Frisking Soldier 2007
“Banksy’s decorations of the West Bank barrier are widely held up as a genuine expression of political activism in support of both ‘the Palestinians’ and the advancement of  human rights.”
This image, created by Banksy in 2007 and located on the West Wall of Bethlehem, subverts expectations. The soldier is being frisked by a little girl, rather than the other way around. It is impossible not to realize that the reverse of this image is a more realistic occurrence in Palestine. Banksy manages to portray a controversial idea, children being persecuted, without showing the image of the girl being frisked. Additionally, the image shows how people dehumanize one another by viewing each other only as threats. As Koensler and Papa write, “Palestine is now the biggest open-air prison of the world”. This image demonstrates the limited freedom of Palestinians with role reversal, confronting the audience with a disturbing image of a child as a persecutor.
As with “The Petrol Bomber” and “The Death of Innocence,” a child is being used to symbolize innocence and vulnerability. The girl even has braided hair, representing youthful innocence, and her pink dress contrasts with the olive green uniform of the soldier. The gun lying next to her represents violence and aggression.
Unlike the murals created by the Bogside Artists, Banksy is an outsider of the struggle he is commenting on. The Bogside Artists live in Ireland and experienced the Troubles firsthand. Their art is personal, at times representing individuals they know, and often portraying members of the community. Banksy, while doing important work by bringing public and international attention to the conflict in Palestine, does not have this personal connection with the community. His work is less about representing what the community is feeling, less about feeling pain in a constructive way, and more about publicity.
Girl Frisking Soldier

6. No Ball Games
2009
A Study in Authority, Childhood and the Quiet Rebellion of Play
With No Ball GamesBanksy returns to one of his most enduring subjects: the tension between authority and childhood. The image is immediately accessible, almost playful in appearance, yet beneath its simplicity lies a sharp and controlled critique. By staging a confrontation between children and an imposed rule, Banksy constructs a scene where innocence does not merely resist authority—it effortlessly bypasses it.
The composition presents two children engaged in a game. They appear to be playing catch, their movements light and natural, entirely absorbed in the activity. However, instead of a ball, they are tossing a sign that reads “NO BALL GAMES.” The inversion is immediate and precise. The object intended to prohibit play becomes the very instrument of it. The children do not destroy the sign, nor do they ignore it. They incorporate it.
The figures are rendered with clarity and softness, contrasting with the rigid, graphic authority of the sign. Their gestures are fluid, unforced, and entirely unconcerned with the rule they are subverting. The scene feels balanced, almost harmonious, despite the contradiction at its core.
No Ball Games
7. Cave Pointing Removal May 2008

Location: Leake street tunnel, London, England
This mural was created at the occasion of the Cans Festival, a “street party of stencil art” organized and hosted by Banksy in May 2008.
Cave Painting Removal portrays a man, most probably a city worker, who seems to be cleaning a wall covered with what appears to be some prehistoric drawings… Indeed the art appears to be some ancient cave paintings of warriors and various animals (horses, deer, bison), very much like the caves at Lascaux in France, now seen as a great treasure for humanity… The immediate reaction of any viewer is of shock and horror, as this maintenance worker seems to be erasing priceless prehistorical art, whereas most probably he thinks he is only jet blasting over supposed graffiti. Indeed, graffiti is considered an act of vandalism, and there is a need to tidy up the urban scene.
By comparing graffiti with ancient prehistorical cave painting, Banksy questions the value society puts on artworks. It can be considered as a criticism of our modern societies tendency to ignore urban artistic legacy. Indeed, we keep on erasing outputs of artistic expression for the sake of arbitrary notions of putative cultural norms. As a socio-political statement, we could even go further as to think we are destroying our artistic and anthropological origins. As such, the ignorance of a council worker following orders, becomes an act of censorship. The figure (the council worker) itself is also graffiti, but nobody is insisting that the figure is removed, just the art.
Banksy is also, more widely, commenting on the value of art, questioning what is considered as art, and how that sits with public space versus private gallery space.
“The Art we look at is made by only a select few. A small group create, promote, purchase, exhibit and decide the success of Art. Only a few hundred people in the world have any real say. When you go to an Art gallery you are simply a tourist looking at the trophy cabinet of a few millionaires.”
 The role of Graffiti as an art form is juxtaposed with the role of Paleolithic art; marking the walls around us seems to be a part of what makes us human… Graffiti Removal suggests that the cultural legacy of society is slowly being erased by society itself, much like some graffiti is quickly removed regardless of its message, positive or negative.
This piece by Banksy only 4 months from May 2008 to August 2008. It was created in Leake Street Tunnel (also known as Banksy Tunnel) a designated graffiti area. It was soon covered with other works, such is the ever changing nature of the tunnel.

About The Lascaux Caves
Lascaux is a complex of caves near the village of Montignac located South-West of France. Over 600 parietal wall paintings cover the interior walls and ceilings of the cave. The paintings represent primarily large animals, typical local contemporary fauna that correspond with the fossil record of the Upper Paleolithic in the area.
They are the combined effort of many generations and, with continued debate, the age of the paintings is now usually estimated at around 17,000 years. Lascaux was inducted into the UNESCO World Heritage Sites list in 1979.
The original caves have been closed to the public since 1963, as their condition was deteriorating, but there are now a number of replicas.
Harry Jerome
This is a copy of the 2.7-metre (9 ft) bronze statue of Harry Jerome at the entrance to Stanley Park in Vancouver.
1940 – 1982) was a Canadiantrack and fieldsprinter and physical education teacher. He won a bronze medal at the 1964 Olympics in Tokyo and set a total of seven world records over the course of his career.
Harry Jerome was born in Prince AlbertSaskatchewan, and moved to North VancouverBritish Columbia, at age 12. His grandfather was John Howard, an American-born railway porter who represented Canada in the 1912 Summer Olympics. Harry’s sister, Valerie Jerome, was also an Olympian who competed for Canada at the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome.
Jerome competed at the university level for Bill Bowerman at the University of Oregon. He was a member of the Canadian track and field team at the 19601964, and 1968 Summer Olympics, winning 100 metrebronze in 1964. Jerome wore his University of Oregon sweats, rather than the contemporary practice of an official national outfit for all Olympic appearances, to warm up for the Olympic 100 metres in Tokyo. He won the gold at the 1966 British Empire and Commonwealth Games held in Kingston, Jamaica.
During his career, Jerome set a total of seven world records, including tying the 100 metre record at 10.0 seconds in 1960, equalling the mark established a month earlier by Germany’s Armin Hary. Later he tied the world record for the 100 yard dash at 9.3 seconds (1961), making Jerome one of the few athletes to own both the 100 yard and 100 metre world record simultaneously. Jerome was a member of the University of Oregon 4 × 100 m relay team that tied the world record of 40.0 seconds in 1962; during the 1962 season, Harry ran 9.2s at the 100 yard dash 2 times. In 1966 he again tied a world record with a 9.1 time in the 100 yard. From 1963 to 1966 he held or equalled four world records concurrently.
He remains the only man to have held the 100 yard world record with 3 different times and is the oldest 100y world record holder, at 25 years old. Jerome never owned the 100y or 100m WR solely but matched his contemporaries. Jerome continued to sprint successfully until the late 1960s.
Jerome received a bachelor’s degree in physical education from the University of Oregon in 1964 and taught with the Richmond School Board (1964–65) and then with the Vancouver School Board (1965–68). In 1968, he received a master’s in physical education from Oregon.
After retiring from athletics in 1969, Jerome was invited by Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau to help create Canada’s new Ministry of Sport. Jerome held a number of senior positions in the ministry but resigned over the government’s cancellation of a large public-private partnership he had negotiated with Kellogg’s to promote youth participation in athletics. During the 1980s, Jerome headed the Premier’s Sport Award program in British Columbia.
Jerome died of a brain aneurysm on December 7, 1982, at the age of 42, in North Vancouver.

 

Statue of Harry Jerome in Stanley Park, Vancouver, British Columbia

Machu Piccu
This is an amalgamation of two pictures, the hills and sky are from a second source. Graphite, pencil crayon,

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I would like to think of myself as a full time traveler. I have been retired since 2006 and in that time have traveled every winter for four to seven months. The months that I am "home", are often also spent on the road, hiking or kayaking. I hope to present a website that describes my travel along with my hiking and sea kayaking experiences.
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