A Nottingham expert has given his verdict over a new mural which appears to have similar styling to that of world famous street artist Banksy. The graffiti, which depicts an elderly man holding a can while seemingly looking at three pigeons illustrated behind him, appeared on a brick wall on Dryden Street in the city.
According to neighbours, the artwork was first noticed on Monday night, May 1. And while residents in the area were left "stunned" by the mysterious grafitti - an art expert said the artwork is "probably not a Banksy".
Dr Benedict Carpenter van Barthold, Principal Lecturer in Fine Art at Nottingham Trent University, has explained why the grafitti does not resemble Banksy's work. "First of all, Banksy's work normally has some kind of visual pun or hook in it", he told Nottinghamshire Live.
Are you planning an event for King Charles III’s Coronation? Let us know here
"If you think about the very famous image of the rioter throwing a bouqet of flowers - that is surprising because you would expect the bouqet of flowers to be a brick. There is nothing like that in this image.
"What we have got here is a stencilled image of an elderly gentleman, looking away from the viewer at some pigeons, with one pigeon apparently standing on his head. It is kind of a nostalgic Hovis advert sort of image that's not got any of the political satire that I would expect to see in a Banksy work."
It is the lack of political satire or pun as well as the execution which leads the expert to believe that the grafitti is not a Banksy, as he explained: "It also looks quite crudely executed. I think the quality of the drawing in the image is quite poor.
"It is not the same sort of standard of execution as you would expect from a Banksy work. It seems very unusual to me that the man is faced away from the viewer because Banksy's subjects nearly always engage the viewer.
"There are nearly always at least shown from their profile or there is a degree of emotional engagement in the image that just is not here. The character is not addressing the world.
"The artwork withdraws from the world because the man's gaze is directed away from our space. That is one of the things that makes it seem like a kind of nostalgic, or even a sort of 'nice' piece of work - and Banksy's work is not nice."
Banksy is a pseudonymous England-based street artist, political activist and film director whose real name and identity remain unconfirmed and the subject of speculation. His satirical street art, including social and political commentary, has appeared on streets, walls and bridges throughout the world.
His previous artwork includes the hula-hoop girl mural - which appeared on the side of a building in Lenton. It was discovered in October 2020, outside the Avi Hair and Beauty Salon in Rothesay Avenue.
The building owners revealed they had sold it to the Brandler Galleries in Brentwood. It is believed to have been sold for a six figure sum.
The Nottingham art expert added: "Certainly his best works have got a kind of edge - it is slightly salty, it has got some kind of comments or satire to it that I am just not seeing in this particular example."
He continued: "That's just a man sitting on an empty space. There is nothing to make sense of that. Maybe there was something on the pavement and it has been removed - but now it does not make any sense at all. He is hovering in mid-air, isn't he?
"The quality of the visual imagery is lacking in political engagement. The quality of the drawing, it all feels off the pace.
"So, is it a Banksy? My feeling is that it is probably not a Banksy. If it is a Banksy, it is not a very good one.
"It is probably easier for someone to forge a Banksy than it would be for someone to forge the work of most other painters, there would still be ways in which a fake Banksy could be distinguished from a real Banksy quite securely just by looking at how the paint has been applied. One of the things I see when I look at Banksy's work is that there is more nuance in the detail, the way in which the light areas and the dark areas are differentiated from each other and the way in which the line is drawn.
"I did not really have much hope because there is a lot of work that imitates Banksy. I think it is an imitation and I would encourage the artist to make an application to study on one of our four programmes.
"If it does turn out to be a Banksy after all - any artist can have an off day."
READ NEXT:
