Banksy takes on the Olympics

British 'masked street artist' Banksy has created two new murals for the Olympic Games, reports Libération.

banksy_olympics_120726_www.banksy.co.uk_1557775175
LIBERATION (France), ATLANTIC WIRE (USA), THE GUARDIAN (UK)

LONDON - British “masked street artist” Banksy has created two new murals for the Olympic Games, reports Libération.

The first Olympic-themed mural, called “Going for Mould” shows a javelin thrower getting ready to throw a missile.

The second mural, called “Hackney Welcomes the Olympics” represents a pole vaulter jumping above an iron fence towards an old mattress below.

No one knows where the murals are located. The artist posted the photos on his website on Monday. According to the Atlantic Wire, Banksy's latest graffiti is a response to the London police's arrest of graffiti artists last week, and the banning of street artists from Olympic venues -- including him.

The Guardian commented on London's war against street art, saying that tourists don't come to London for shining perfection, but rather for the chaotic ungainly juxtaposition of old and new, or for Banksy, whom the newspaper calls “the prince of street art.”

How is the Olympics benefiting London by enforcing a cleanup of its most globally recognized art movement, asks the London daily?



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