New Christmas-themed Banksy mural highlights issue of homelessness
A new Banksy artwork includes a homeless man sleeping on a Birmingham bench.
The latest mural from the secretive street artist features two reindeer painted onto a brick wall appearing to pull along a bench on Vyse Street in the city’s Jewellery Quarter like Santa’s sleigh.
A video posted by Banksy on his Instagram page shows a man with a white beard, apparently homeless, drinking from a bottle before climbing on to the bench to lie down as some passers-by walk past.
In his post, Banksy wrote: “God bless Birmingham.
“In the 20 minutes we filmed Ryan on this bench passers-by gave him a hot drink, two chocolate bars and a lighter – without him ever asking for anything.”
The artist’s publicist did not immediately respond to a question as to whether the man in the video was a rough sleeper or an actor.
Local jewellery wax carver Martin Clarke, 52, said: “About five o’clock in the morning there was a small tent with a couple of lads in high vis.
“(I) just thought it was to do with the upkeep of the jewellery quarter, and it turned out to be a lot more.”
Copyright (c) PA Media Ltd. 2019, All Rights Reserved. Picture (c) Banksy / Instagram / PA Wire.
