Presumably stuck inside due to coronavirus like the rest of us, Banksy has been creating art quite different from his usual political murals. In April, the graffiti artist shared a playful, lockdown-themed piece that featured rats running riot in his bathroom, and now he’s shared an artwork paying tribute to NHS staff.
Titled Game Changer, according to a post on the artist’s Instagram, the artwork depicts a kid playing with a nurse doll in a superhero cape, with their Batman and Spiderman toys discarded in the bin. The depiction is more detailed than the graphic stencils of Banksy fame, but then he’s probably got more time on his hands.
The work is currently on display in Southampton General Hospital, with a note left by Banksy reading: “Thanks for all you’re doing. I hope this brightens the place up a bit, even if it’s only black and white.”
It might not be the searing political statement we’ve come to expect from the artist but, as Paula Head, the chief executive of University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust, says: “It will no doubt be a massive boost to morale for everyone who works and is cared for at our hospital.”
When lockdown comes to an end, Game Changer will also be put on public display then auctioned to raise money for NHS charities, according to the Guardian.
Another Banksy artwork – the 2014 mural titled The Girl With A Pierced Eardrum – was modified last month, with someone giving it a blue surgical mask in line with coronavirus advice.