Banksy’s life mission, as the artist – whoever he is – is social commentary.

Making his way to New York, two new pieces of work have appeared so far this week, and both have subsequently been shared on Banksy’s Instagram for all the world to see.

The first is Banksy’s trademark rat, this time running in a clock as if it were a hamster wheel:

According to Thrillist, the building on which the artwork has been placed, located at 14th Street and Sixth Avenue in Manhattan, is a former bank and post office that is slated for demolition:

Since concluding his October 2013 “residency” in New York, Banksy has primarily focused on projects in the UK and the West Bank, so many were stoked to see a new piece in New York.

But before some even realised that the artist was there, another artwork happened: a mural in support of a Turkish artist, jailed for nearly three years over a painting, was unveiled:

The 21 metre-long mural was created with graffiti artist Borf – more from The Evening Standard:

Zehra Dogan was reportedly imprisoned last year for her painting of a brutally damaged Turkish city.

The anonymous British artist’s work shows the image projected above a mural of black tally marks which resemble jail bars and represent the time she has spent in prison.

“I really feel for her. I’ve painted things much more worthy of a custodial sentence,” Banksy said in a statement.

You see, the painting by Dogan was a watercolour interpretation of an image Dogan had seen in a newspaper:

One year ago Zehra Dogan was jailed for painting this watercolour of a photograph she saw in the newspaper. Protest against this injustice by re-gramming her painting and tagging Turkey’s President Erdogan @rterdogan #FREEzehradogan

A post shared by Banksy (@banksy) on Mar 15, 2018 at 5:20pm PDT

The jailed artist is said to share a cell with 40 inmates, receiving only periodic visits.

And now, thanks to Banksy, you know.

For more, follow his Instagram account here to see what else he might do in New York this weekend.

[source:thrillist&hyperallergic&theeveningstandard]