The anonymous artist, Banksy has created a piece known as “Game Changer” to pay tribute to health workers. The art was on display, nicely framed in a corridor at Southampton General Hospital. The staff and patients can now appreciate and admire the artwork on Level C of Southampton General Hospital.
The hospital, which is the largest in the University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust system, hosts coronavirus researchers including those who are starting vaccine trials.
The artwork depicts a boy playing with a nurse superhero toy, with Batman and Spider-man being discarded in a bin. The nurse, wearing a face mask and white apron featuring a red cross emblem, has her arm raised as if she is flying, with a cape fluttering behind her.
Banksy left a note for the hospital workers, which reads “Thanks for all you’re doing. I hope this brightens the place up a bit, even if it’s only black and white”.
Paula Head, the chief executive of University Hospital Southampton NHS foundation trust, said: “Here at Southampton, our hospital family has been directly impacted with the tragic loss of much loved and respected members of staff and friends. The fact that Banksy has chosen us to recognise the outstanding contribution everyone in and with the NHS is making, in unprecedented times, is a huge honour.”
“It will be really valued by everyone in the hospital as people get a moment in their busy lives to pause, reflect and appreciate this piece of art. It will no doubt also be a massive boost to morale for everyone who works and is cared for at our hospital.”
The NHS tribute will remain at Southampton General Hospital until the autumn, and subsequently it will be auctioned to raise money for the NHS.
How much the artwork would fetch at auction remains to be seen but Banksy’s artwork is world-renowned and has raised millions of dollars in the past. In late March this year, Sotheby held an online auction of Banksy’s works that netted $1.4 million amidst the economic downturn proving that buyers are undeterred by it and will buy Banksy’s artwork under any circumstances. In fact, the auction exceeded the pre-sale estimate of around $870k to $1.3 million. More than half the buyers were new to the auction house.
While this anonymous artist make an effort to keep his identity anonymous, and reveals nothing about his personal life, he has recently made a rare appearance on the latest Instagram video in London Underground. In July 2020, he created a coronavirus art on the London Underground train but was quickly removed by the Transport for London authorities. The artwork was scrubbed off due to the “strict anti-graffiti policy”, said Transport for London in a statement.
Banksy-store.com has made the art print of this superhero nurse tribute available on their store for shipment worldwide!
Superhero Nurse masks and NHS Nurse tribute masks are also available for purchase! Check out the Banksy Face Mask sections!
Prior to this, in April, the artist had also painted rats scuttling in his bathroom during the lockdown when he was working-from-home to depict the new reality we are living in. The rat, an anagram of the word “art”, is a common feature in Banksy’s street art, and serves as an allegory in his critiques of capitalism and waste.
In July 2020, he created a coronavirus art on the London Underground train but was quickly removed by the Transport for London authorities.
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