New Banksy artworks take aim at migration crisis in Paris

The first of seven provocative images was discovered on World Refugee Day

Jacob Stolworthy
Tuesday 26 June 2018 08:26 BST
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A man walks past a recent artwork by street artist Banksy in Paris
A man walks past a recent artwork by street artist Banksy in Paris

Seven provocative pieces of art taking aim at migration in Paris are believed to be the work of mysterious street artist Banksy.

The works have been attributed to the world famous graffiti artist by art website Artistik Rezo whose editor, Nicolas Laugero Lasserre, claimed he knew the artist has been planning a trip to the French capital.

In recent days, the artworks - which experts believe to be a criticism of negative feelings regarding migration in France - have manifested with one appearing in the city's northern edge near a former centre for refugees.

The first was found around Porte de la Chappelle on 20 June (World Refugee Day) featuring the image of a child spray-painting wallpaper over a black swastika. Laugero Lasserre noted how the artwork used the same wallpaper stencil that featured in a piece named Go Flock Yourself which featured at a Bristol museum exposition in 2009.

He said: "It’s an extraordinary chance to have Banksy in Paris. As always his interventions arrive at a key political moment, urging citizens and government to change the paradigm on the migration issue."

Earlier this year, three Banksy pieces appeared in Hull with many believing them to be a reaction to Brexit while the street artist unveiled a New York-based mural dedicated to the Turkish artist Zehra Dogan, who was reportedly jailed for nearly three years over a painting.

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