Arts & Entertainment

Banksy paints himself into Ken’s corner

By team ⋅ March 27, 2008 ⋅  Email this post ⋅  Print this post ⋅ Post a comment

The Guardian, 1st February

Banksy’s last foray into the world of politics saw him travel to Bethlehem to paint satirical murals highlighting the plight of the Palestinian people.Now Banksy, the secretive street artist, has turned his attention to domestic issues, agreeing to support London mayor Ken Livingstone’s bid for re-election.

The artist, whose works have fetched more that £300,000 at auction, is one of the more that 20 leading figures who are donating work for the Bid for Ken auction. Yesterday Livingstone, who is standing for re-election in May, said: ‘London is a city where the arts flourish. Artists in all fields make a central contribution to how we see our city and our society as a whole’.

According to the mayor’s campaign team, Banksy is creating a work which will go on sale in Marhc alongside pieces from Antony Gormley, who created the Angel of the North, and Jeremy Deller, who won the Turner prize in 2004.
The race to become mayor of London does not fully begin until March but Livingstone’s battle with Boris Johnston already promises to be the closest – and most bitter – contest since the post was established eight years ago.

Livingstone’s administration has come under sustained attack over allegations of corruption while his Tory rival Johnson was forced to apologise for referring to black people as ‘piccaninnies’ in a news-paper article.

Also among the artists who have signed up are Richard Hamilton, Billy Childish, Mona Hatoum, Jamie Reid, Peter Kennard and Geraldine Swayne.