[imagesource: Merrivale Model Village]

Crowds have been flocking to see eight pieces of Banksy-style street art that have appeared in various locations along England’s east coast.

Usually, a few days after the anonymous graffiti artist creates something, he almost always posts his work on Instagram or his website.

But these pieces have not been confirmed or claimed by Banksy as of yet.

Anyway, the BBC investigated what has been dubbed the “East Anglian ‘spraycation'”, looking at where the pieces are, what their significance could be, and what might happen to them.

For most of the artworks, the East Suffolk Council is waiting for confirmation that they are indeed Banksy’s work, but are looking into ways to preserve the pieces as originals.

On with the tour.

The Merrivale Model Village in Great Yarmouth seems to be the only piece that featured Banksy’s name (a close-up is seen above):

Prof Paul Gough, principal and vice-chancellor of Arts University Bournemouth made this observation:

“Banksy has a crew of animators, model-makers and fabricators he can recruit to create the most exquisite miniatures and models,” said Prof Gough.

“The thatched cottage at Merrivale village is a fine example, with an additional outsize signature tag, and a message ‘Go big or go home’ that plays on the idea of scale and houses – but is also about ambition: Banksy rarely does things by halves.”

Moving on to this statement piece in Nicholas Everitt Park, Oulton Broad, Suffolk:

There was supposed to be a metal boat underneath the figures, but the Oulton Broad Parish Council removed it over flooding fears as it was blocking a drain and rain was on the cards.

But, apparently, once the rain is over, the boat will be put back.

Prof Gough reckons this perfectly positioned stencil and relevant location means this has to be a Banksy artwork:

“Banksy is also adept at recycling stuff left lying around – a bicycle tyre, a pile of sand – or here at Oulton Broad, a corrugated metal sheet that doubles as a boat to convey a powerful environmental warning, as the children bail out the sinking ship.”

Then we have this seagull trying to catch installation material “chips” in Katwijk Way, Lowestoft, Suffolk:

Prof Gough said that gulls had “made fleeting appearances” in Banksy’s previous seaside locations:

“Here a vast seagull, painted on a gable wall in a more elaborate manner than one often sees in his work, hovers over a skip filled with huge carved chips – a reference to the incorrigible bin-picking tendencies of the ferocious urban gulls that can terrorise our resorts.”

Next is a child with a crowbar alongside a sandcastle and a lifted paving slab in London Road North, Lowestoft:

Prof Gough said that the use of a crowbar in place of a spade and bucket “combined playfulness and light relief with something a little menacing”:

He believes the artist is referencing the student uprising in Paris in 1968, which had the slogan “sous les pavés, la plage!”, which means “beneath the pavement, the beach”, and questions whether the “crowbar is a reference to a world of eviction and squatting”.

At the bottom of Links Hill, North Beach, Lowestoft, one might stumble upon a rat reclining in a deckchair with a cocktail:

Rats have been the artist’s “rodent of choice for decades”, according to Prof Gough, adding that they are “irreverent, playful characters that have popped up during his COVID-19-inspired period”.

In Admiralty Road, Great Yarmouth, Norfolk, two people can be seen dancing on top of a bus shelter, while another figure plays the accordion:

Also in Norfolk, at the Gorleston seafront is an arcade-style grabber crane above a bench:

Last but not least, a group of hermit crabs with one in a shell holding a sign on a sea wall in Cromer, Norfolk:

Hopefully, the sea doesn’t wash this one away anytime soon, because the message is poignant and needs to be seen:

“This is a quite brilliant painting, which combines humour with a very serious message that refers to homelessness, refugees and the rental market,” said Prof Gough.

“It’s also a brilliant play on the idea of the hermit, a loner denied access to secure accommodation.

Well, that’s it for the Banksy bombs along the East Anglian coast.

[source:bbc]