Banksy has unveiled a new piece of art inspired by the protesters who toppled the statue of Edward Colston in his home city of Bristol over the weekend.
The graffiti artist's new artwork shows protesters pulling down the statue of the 17th-century slave trader during Sunday's protest, saying their actions should be commemorated.
The caption on the Instagram post read: “What should we do with the empty plinth in the middle of Bristol?
“Here’s an idea that caters for both those who miss the Colston statue and those who don’t.
“We drag him out the water, put him back on the plinth, tie cable round his neck and commission some life size bronze statues of protestors in the act of pulling him down.
“Everyone happy. A famous day commemorated.”
The artist has publicly expressed his support of the Black Lives Matter movement, which has escalated over the past two weeks following the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis.
Mr Floyd died after a white police officer held him down by pressing his knee into his neck for almost nine minutes on May 25. His death has sparked days of protests around the world.
Bansky showed his support for the movement in an Instagram post on Saturday, of a painting of a vigil candle burning an American flag.
In the post, he wrote: “At first I thought I should just shut up and listen to black people about this issue.
“But why would I do that? It’s not their problem, it’s mine.”
He continued: “People of colour are being failed by the system. The white system. Like a broken pipe flooding the apartment of the people living downstairs. The faulty system is making their life a misery, but it’s not their job to fix it. They can’t – no-one will let them in the apartment upstairs.
“This is a white problem. And if white people don’t fix it, someone will have to come upstairs and kick the door in.”
The identity of Banksy has long been a closely-guarded secret, but that has not stopped him from becoming one of the most prolific artists of the 21st century, gaining attention for his politically-charged works.
