Banksy's Girl with Balloon
Are you a lover of contemporary art and interested in Girl with Balloon? Well, we too are passionate about street art, more specifically the works of Banksy.
Girl with Balloon is a series of paintings by Banksy . To elaborate, the painting depicts a young girl reaching for a heart-shaped balloon. This work first appeared in 2002. A later version appeared and was sold in 2018. Shortly afterward, it self-destructed before the astonished eyes of the buyers.
In what follows, you will discover:
- The exact meaning and significance of The Girl with the Balloon
- How it was sold and auctioned, as well as details of its self-destruction
- Banksy's works in Palestine
By the end of this article, you will have discovered the entire story behind The Girl with the Balloon , from its creation to its self-destruction.
I) Banksy's Girl with Balloon: Meaning
This artist likes to keep his identity secret; consequently, no one truly knows who he is. However, he calls himself Banksy and is believed to be British. He is known worldwide for his satirical urban style, also known as street art. He uses painting to convey messages that often blend poetry, politics, and humor. His graffiti are humorous images, often combined with slogans. His subjects are diverse: children, celebrities, the elderly, police officers, soldiers, monkeys, and even rats.
Girl with Balloon is one of Banksy's most popular works. We invite you to discover our descriptive analysis of it. You can explore all of Banksy's other artistic creations in the article "Top 50 Banksy Works."
A) Banksy's Girl with Balloon: message
Girl with Balloon is one of this artist's most popular works. The tag was first created in 2002 in the streets of London. It was on a staircase, in full view of passersby, that Banksy created this masterpiece using stencils .
It depicts a little girl dressed in a black and white dress, reaching out towards a red, heart-shaped balloon (which is floating away). To the right of the girl, at the same height as the balloon, is the inscription "There is always hope ," a way of saying that there is always hope.
With this artwork, Banksy wanted to convey the message that even when all seems lost, one should never give up, because there is always hope. He has modified his depiction of the little girl for different occasions. In 2014, for example, the Bristol-based graffiti artist recreated his drawing, this time placing a veil over the girl's head. This was his way of showing support for Syria.
On the third anniversary of the Syrian war, which had claimed at least 140,000 lives, Banksy unveiled his latest work: Girl with a Balloon. It was his way of paying tribute to the 9.3 million people who had lost their homes and shelters since the civil war began.
Her movement spread very quickly, to the point where at each gathering, several (red) balloons were inflated and floated in tribute to the many victims of the war in Syria. Numerous actors supported this campaign by filming themselves with the famous red balloon . The girl's popularity has continued to grow over the years.
B) Banksy's Girl with Balloon: Analysis
Several polls have revealed that this Banksy artwork has achieved such notoriety that it has dethroned even the greatest classics. It has quite simply become the British people's favorite work of art. It surpasses The Hay Wain (John Constable – 1821), The Singing Butler (Jack Vettriano – 1992), and The Fighting Temeraire (JMW Turne – 1838).
Just a few months ago, this stencil was adapted by its creator to try and counter the famous Brexit campaign. Banksy reproduced his famous little girl, reaching out towards a balloon bearing the colors of the United Kingdom.
II) The Little Girl with the Balloon: Auction
The Girl with Balloon is so famous that it has naturally attracted the attention of the world's greatest and wealthiest collectors. An authentic reproduction by the artist was auctioned off, but the sale did not end well for the buyer.
A) A historic auction for Banksy
Banksy has always been against the buying and selling of artwork. He believes that collectors spend vast sums of money that could be used for other purposes and help millions of people. After numerous requests, the mysterious British street artist agreed to reproduce his work for auction.
On October 5, 2018, the sale in question took place at Sotheby's in London. The artwork, painted on paper with acrylics and spray paint, sold for the modest sum of £1,042,000, or approximately €1,200,000. This was a record sum at the time for the Bristol graffiti artist , who had never before seen one of his works sell for such an amount. Everything could have ended well for the buyer, but then, something as unexpected as it was sudden occurred.
B) Banksy's self-destructing artwork
Just after the gavel fell, signaling the end of the auction, an unexpected event occurred before the astonished eyes of the many spectators: the painting of the little girl (almost entirely) self-destructed. A wave of astonishment swept through the audience present on that fateful October 5, 2018.
Alex Branczik, one of the auction house's managers, wrote in a statement: "It looks like we just got Bankser'd ."
Banksy himself commented on this on Instagram. Captioning a picture of the painting, he ironically wrote "Going, going, gone…", a way of saying "Sold, sold, gone…".
As mentioned above, the artist has openly criticized the establishment and the contemporary art market. In a video titled "Shred the Love" and posted on his website, he explained the design of this mechanism in detail and demonstrated that during testing, the paint completely self-destructed.
If he intended to send a message, he failed, given that his shredded painting is now worth more than double its original value. This was amplified by the global reach of the event.
III) Banksy Girl with Balloon: Palestine
In July 2005, Banksy traveled to the West Bank to protest the Gaza wall. The graffiti artist then clandestinely created nine murals in the Palestinian territory , much to the astonishment of the soldiers who, despite their tension, allowed him to proceed while pointing rifles at his team. Banksy was accompanied by several street artists, including Ron English, to create these works. This intervention was carried out without the authorities' authorization. To avoid being shot, Banksy and his team chose to work in broad daylight so they could be identified as tourists. We invite you to explore this work, titled "Santa's Ghetto."
The separation wall in question is called the West Bank. On the Palestinian side, it is called the Segregation Wall or Apartheid Wall. On the Israeli side, it is called the Security Wall.
A) Banksy and the Palestinian wall: the works of the wall
The project, titled " Santa's Ghetto ," is actually a message of hope that Banksy wanted to send to civilian populations. These murals, while sometimes provocative, are not explicitly controversial because they are non-violent and represent a hymn to peace. They only take on their full meaning within this country; they are therefore site-specific. In other words, outside of this context, the graffiti loses its meaning .
" Beach Boys "
Banksy painted nine stencil paintings along the entire length of this wall. The most famous by far is the painting titled "Beach Boys." The artist created a trompe-l'œil , a false hole in the wall that reveals an idyllic landscape of palm trees overlooking a sandy beach and a turquoise sea. These two spaces—the space of the artwork itself and the space depicted within it—confront each other. The British artist intended to juxtapose them in order to critique the very existence of this wall and the right of every person to hope for a better future.
Just below this graffiti, two children are depicted looking towards the viewers. Unlike the landscape seen through the hole, which is in color, the children are in black and white. One is standing while the other is kneeling. They are holding buckets and shovels, reminiscent of essential beach items, but the beach remains inaccessible to them, especially since the hole that would have allowed them to reach it is too high for them. What is interesting to note is that the depiction of these boys is both simplified and distorted: they have a rather ghostly appearance.
Besides this painting, one can also find on this wall paintings such as " Girl Frisking a Soldier ," which depicts a little girl frisking a soldier. This painting was created opposite the Jacir Palace, not far from Gilo 300, a checkpoint marking the border between Palestine and Israel.
The " Armored Dove ," depicting a dove of peace wearing a bulletproof vest, is located outside the building housing the Palestinian Heritage Center.
The " Angel Sprinkling Hearts " sculpture depicts an angel sprinkling yellow hearts. It is located near the Ararat Hotel in Bethlehem.
The " Flower Thrower ," which depicts a man in black and white throwing a bouquet of flowers (a symbol of peace and hope) in color, is located on a wall near a garage on the main road in Beit Sahour.
B) Banksy's Street Art Palestine: Other Works
" Santa's Ghetto " is not the only project Banksy has undertaken in Palestine. He has created other paintings that have garnered international attention. We have selected the two that, in our opinion, have had the greatest global impact.
"The Christmas Nativity Scene "
Just days before Christmas in 2019, Banksy painted a nativity scene on a wall. Small sections of wall covered in graffiti calling for love and peace served as the backdrop for the scene. Biblical figures such as Jesus, his parents Mary and Joseph, as well as a donkey and a cow, can be recognized. Above their heads is the impact mark left by the wall, reminiscent of a star in the sky.
Hang the little girl with the balloon on your walls
As you may have noticed, Banksy is an artist who fights against war and violence against certain peoples, including the Palestinian people, in his own way. His character, which is reflected in his street art, contributes to his legendary status. The more he denounces these issues, the more famous his works become. You can now hang a reproduction of Banksy's famous little girl on your walls.
You are now well-informed about the famous works of Banksy, this renowned anonymous British artist. It will be easy for you to lead a discussion with your friends who are passionate about his work.
