New Banksy mural appears in London

A new Banksy mural was discovered in Islington, London. The mysterious graffiti artist is known to use his art to express a message. What does this mural mean?

Words:

• When someone is elusive, it means they are hard to find or contact.
• A mural is a painting that covers a wall.
• Something is impressive when many people think it’s amazing and they respect it.
• Signage is a word used to describe a group of signs or the way signs are used. 
• The scale of something is how big or small it is.
• An MP (Member of Parliament) is a politician that represents a specific area.
• When something is site-specific, it’s related to a location (also called a site).
• Herbicide is a chemical used to kill weeds.

Watch the video until 02:00.

1. A few locals are interviewed about the Banky artwork. How did these people hear about the mural? There are multiple correct answers.

A: They saw it on their morning walk.

B: They found out when Banksy confirmed it was his.

C: Their friend texted them about it.

D: They heard about it on television.

E: Their mother woke them to tell them about it.

F: They saw Banksy paint it in the early hours of yesterday morning.

2. Why does expert James Peak think the mural is interesting?

A: Because Banky painted on a large building, it has an environmental message, and uses elements from nature.

B: Because it’s very big, it’s been painted in a clever way, and it has a very clear environmental message.  

C: Because of the amount of paint Banksy used, because he chose to paint in a built environment, and because of the clever message.

3. MP Jeremy Corbyn is happy about the mural. He mentions two reasons for this. Write down at least one.

4. What will happen now that Banksy has confirmed the painting is his?

Watch until the end of the video.

5. Ulrich Blanché is interviewed about the Banksy mural. Look at the summary of what he says. Fill in the gaps.

colour – hint – paint – person – site – tree – wall – weeds

Banksy always chooses the […] of his artwork very carefully. In this case, he saw that this […] was cut back, and he decided to make it look like it’s growing leaves by adding green […] behind it on the […]. He also often puts a […] about graffiti in his artwork. In this mural, the […] is holding herbicide, which is used to get rid of […]. Graffiti is often seen as something bad or ugly, something that you need to get rid of. Banksy is showing you can use graffiti to make something ugly look beautiful with […].

6. In the whole video, two interesting things are mentioned about the colour green that Banksy used and why he may have used it. Name at least one of these things.

7. Since the mural went up, someone has already damaged it by throwing white paint over it. People in the area are unhappy about this and have called the act ‘vandalism’. However, some other people would call Banksy a vandal because he paints over buildings and walls without permission. Do you think Banksy is an artist or a vandal? Explain your answer.

Van de makers van All Right!, Of Course! en Taalblokken Engels