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Critical Essay of a Painting by

Banksy

Humanities B

By Jee Yeon

In 2005, Banksy, a British graffiti artist whose identify is not verified, has painted a

host of graffito in Gaza Strip, Bethlehem. ‘Kids in the beach’ drawn by Banksy is one

of the graffito that was drawn on “The Wall”, where it is located between Palestine

and Israel. The painting ‘Kids in the beach’ is an enigmatic picture that gives a little

message about the conflict between Israel and Palestine. In my point of view, this

painting gives me a message of Palestine being restricted and seeking for the

freedom when considering about its subjects, origins, mediums and visual elements.

The subjects in this painting are the kids and the scene of a beach. The two kids in

this painting are in a stopped manner, one of them standing straight, the other

kneeling on his knees. I feel as if I had disturbed them while they were playing on

the beach, for one of the kids in the painting is looking very fiercely. They both have

an object of a bucket, which is normally used in the beach. Also, their upper body is

in naked, wearing only pants. In this way the artist shows the two kids having fun in

a particular place called beach. Besides, the two kids are grinning, which also shows

me that they are having a relaxed time. The view of the beach is also the main

subject of this painting, which relates with the kids as well. The clear sky and the

magnificent view of the beach give me the feeling of equanimity. However, this

sight contradicts with the meaning of the wall, which is known as a temporary

security construction to hinder the entrance of suicide bombers into Israel. Thus,

2the children look like seeking for peace when looked at their facial emotions, both of

them playing in the beach with a big smile.

At the time of painting, conflict in the Middle East was still in tension. The tension

between Israel and Palestine and the relationship between the two kids and the

scene of beach are similar. The artist has used visual elements to communicate the

origin of the painting. Two kids in this painting are in black and the only object that

is in color is the bucket. In my opinion, since the two kids are in dark mood, it

makes me to conclude that they are unfortunate, showing me that they are

Palestinians. I thought that Palestinians were hapless owing to Palestinians being

restricted from the structure of the barrier, making them difficult to get resources

and medical services. On the contrary, the scenery of the beach stands for the

Israelis, for the image is painted in bright colors. I believe that the artist wanted to

reflect and highlight the situation between Israel and Palestine by comparing the

mood of the two kids and the life inside the hole. Also, he wanted give hope for

Palestinians by drawing the cracks along the image to show that the artist is hoping

for the wall to be broken.

The artist has used various mediums to form the picture. The basic materials that

he needed to create the picture were the wall (the background), stencil (used to

create the cut design by the application of paint through the holes) and a spray.

This may have been use to create an effect of speed since it was illegal to paint on

the wall, especially on “The Wall”, which was used for security not for artistic

purpose. For this painting, he has already painted a poster of the beach and stuck it

with glue while he was spraying the stencils on the wall. Due to the fact that the

artist was not allowed to paint on the wall, he was well prepared with all the

materials that he necessitated.

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In this painting, the artist is attempting to express the messages of freedom and

hope. To create this feeling or idea, the artist focused on the major scenery of the

painting. In contrast to the situation that was being held in the Middle East, the

beach shown in the painting represented peace and nonviolence. One facet of the

painting can be seen that the artist was trying to object to the war between Israel

and Palestine and aiming for peace. Another facet of the painting can be seen that

the artist was trying to attract people’s attention to feel compassion for the

Palestinians who is suffers from the barrier. The artist strongly wanted to cease the

conflict between Israel and Palestine through the message in this painting. Overall,

the work is successful in explaining the hope and the need of freedom for

Palestinians.