‘It’s Not Their Problem, It’s Mine’: Banksy Reveals a New Painting of the American Flag Burning and Calls on White People to Take Action

Banksy‘s latest work, which he shared
online over the weekend, is a tribute to Black Lives Matter. The
new painting depicts the American flag catching fire from a
memorial candle next to a framed portrait of a black
silhouette.

“At first I thought I should just shut up and listen to black
people about this issue,” the elusive street artist wrote
on Instagram. “But why would I do
that? It’s not their problem, it’s mine. People of color are being
failed by the system. The white system. Like a broken pipe flooding
the apartment of the people living downstairs… This is a white
problem. And if white people don’t fix it, someone will have to
come upstairs and kick the door in.”

Both the artwork and the accompanying message come in response
to protests taking place across the US in recent weeks in the wake
of the police killing of George Floyd, as well as other instances
of police brutality against black Americans. Street artists around
the world have created moving tributes to
Floyd, while other artworks memorializing Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, and
Breonna Taylor have gone viral
online.

Banksy, whose work often addresses issues of social
justice, has continued making art despite the global lockdowns
in recent months. In April, he demonstrated that he, too,
could work from home, sharing
a photograph of his bathroom, where stenciled rats ran amok and
seemingly tipped over bottles of soap.

He also donated a new painting
of a young boy playing with a superhero doll dressed as a nurse
to England’s Southampton General Hospital. Just two days
later, a would-be thief in a
hazmat suit was caught trying to steal the artwork. The piece,
titled gamechanger, will be auctioned to benefit
the National Health Service in the fall.

The post ‘It’s Not Their Problem, It’s Mine’: Banksy Reveals
a New Painting of the American Flag Burning and Calls on White
People to Take Action appeared first on artnet News.