Banksy, “My wife hates it when I work from home” (2020) (via Instagram)
What happens when Banksy, an artist who rose to fame for his street art, is quarantined at home? Hell breaks loose.
Yesterday, the ever-elusive street artist provided a rare glimpse into his personal life, posting images on his Instagram page showing new artwork he’s been creating at home. He also disclosed one little-known fact: He’s married (although you never know what’s truth with Banksy, or if he’s trying to throw fans off his scent).
Humorously captioned “My wife hates it when I work from home,” the images show Banksy’s trademark rats (an anagram of “art”) wreaking havoc on his bathroom.
Stenciled onto the bathroom walls, the rats are seen moving the mirror out of place, rolling toilet paper out all over the floor, wastefully squirting toothpaste and soap, and other mischievous acts. One particularly unruly rat, painted over the toilet cover, is captured recklessly soiling the bowl.
Banksy’s followers are loving his quarantine art, judging by over two million likes and hundreds of delighted comments on the post. Some, however, were disappointed to see the artist’s modest bathroom. One particularly baffled commenter wrote: “You are one of the world’s most famous artists … and THAT’S YOUR shitty little BATHROOM????”
Well, the good news is that due to quarantining Banksy’s long hackneyed visual puns are now safely confined to this hacks own loo.
P.S. It should not go without noting that Banksy’s hypothetical trademark rats along with his stencil based methods were lifted by plagiarist from his elder artist, Xavier Prou, aka Blek le Rat.