Photos and Video: Think on: Banksy's tour of a ruined Gaza

From The Guardian - The street artist, who previously created works on the wall of the West Bank, has made a series of new paintings across ruins in Palestine Banksy Gaza

The Bristolian street artist Banksy has returned to Palestine to create another series of works, following his famous 2005 series painted on the West Bank barrier wall.

The works, which he trailed on his Instagram account last night, include one piece which somewhat resembles Rodin’s sculpture The Thinker, with the figure’s hand gone from thoughtfully supporting his face to covering it in despair – or perhaps Niobe, the classical figure weeping for the loss of her children. Another features a kitten sprayed on the remains of a wall, posed playing with a coiled ball of rusted metal as if it were wool. A third features children swinging around a watchtower as though it were a fairground ride.

The artist made a film to go alongside the works, documenting the devastation wrought by Israeli militia and bombing campaigns. “Make this the year YOU discover a new destination,” he sarcastically writes in its captions, recalling the banal exhortations of holiday brochures. One local is recorded saying of the kitten painting: “This cat tells the whole world that she is missing joy in her life. The cat found something to play with. What about our children?” The camera then rests on text that 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.” more

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