16 A RT S & E N T E RTAIN M EN T
SIN Vol. 22 Issue 03
The wonder of Banksy By Alice O’Donnell
CREATIVE CORNER
Softness By Róise Nic Dhonnagáin I am more beautiful than ever. The mirror whispers this to me, her watery surface, distorting, leaves me decapitated. A face of sharp angles sinks like a stone, no one but Narcissus to accompany her, while the bloated body bobs upwards, free in a way that only balloons are. This is the place where the best and worst things happen. The same numbers flash before me, again, and again and again. The room plummets, overwhelmed by the weight of empty. So full of nothingness. Destined to sink, but doomed to float. The moon is awake already. Her greedy eyes like saucers, I can feel her watching. The thickest fabric could never block her out. She, the half shell, always yearning to be full, Never full enough. She can have my fullness, Gorge herself on the curves and rounds and dips and rises. I have no use for it. She boasts her ever changing cycle with pride, chasing the fleeting wholeness. My cycle of smooth skin, coarse hair, flowing blood, does nothing but remind me of my failures. Cursed to be soft, in a world made of steel edges. The sharper the better. I would purge myself of it all if I could. Cut myself on the razor - edged world, Shorn of all that makes me soft and vulnerable. Cut to bone and cut still, Leave me with the nothingness that feeds me. Then, I shall start to feel whole.
Crop circles. The Bermuda Triangle. Bigfoot. Banksy. The street artist seems to have firmly cemented himself (or herself!) in the ‘Unsolved Mysteries’ category of the world. Since they jumped into the street art scene in 1990, Banksy has slowly but surely captivated the world. In more ways than one, he is a sort of weird, arty superhero. Real identity hidden, he appears and disappears across the globe, bringing attention to social and political issues before disappearing back into anonymity. His art being the only proof that he was ever there. There is power in his lack of identity. His is nothing but his art, and his art is what Banksy is. There is no personal life drama, no tabloid headlines, nothing to distract from his work. He is unforgiving of extreme capitalism, and frequently focuses on loss of innocence, as seen with his arguably most famous work Girl with The Balloon (2004), as well as Bomb Hugger (2003) and Kids on Guns (2003). The latter two pieces also touch on another of Banksy’s favourite subjects
- the contrast of nature and love in the premise of war. Bomb Hugger is credited as being one of Banksy’s earliest works, and is a black stencilled piece depicting an innocent girl hugging a bomb. Similarly, Kids on Guns is a silhouette of two children with a heart balloon between them, standing on a pile of explosives and guns. Makes you think, right? Love Is In The Air is another of Banksy’s most famous works, and depicts a black and white rioter, about to throw a bouquet of delicate, colourful flowers. It has been reprinted millions of times, onto tops, posters, bottles, even pencils. Is it really just a piece of art to be enjoyed, or is there a pointed political message behind it? It’s worth noting that the location of Banksy’s art is almost as significant as the art itself. Love Is In The Air was painted in Jerusalem, on its West Bank Wall, a wall which separates Israel with Palestine. While Israel claim it is an antiterrorism measure, the Palestinians believe it is an apartheid wall. No matter its true origin and purpose, it is a symbol of suspicion and scepticism between two nations. Banksy isn’t just an artist though - he is also a performer. Who could forget when his Girl with Balloon self - destructed at a sale, just after being
bided on for $1.3 million? Or his faux - theme park “Dismaland”, a mockery of Disneyland? It’s clear that Banksy is aware he is being watched by the world. How strange to be such a performer, and yet nobody knows his name. Of course, not every single one of his pieces have deep symbolism. His 2009 art, Steam Roller Traffic Warden, humorously depicts a traffic warden seemingly flattened by a steam roller. Similarly, Lenin on Roller Blades (2003) shows exactly what you think it would – Lenin trying to roller skate. There’s no secret message, no thought - provoking symbolism. It’s simply a work of art made to be viewed and enjoyed. Banksy has unquestionably taken the world by storm. Only a week ago, one of his paintings Show Me the Monet went for £7.6 million, or the equivalent of €8.6 million. His Instagram alone has 10.3 million followers, and his drawing Game Changer, depicting a little boy playing with a nurse superhero toy after discarding his other Batman and Spiderman toys, has gone on to become to become the symbol of public gratitude to the NHS during the Covid-19 pandemic. His latest piece in Nottingham, claimed on 17th October, blew up headlines across the world, and showed that despite his identity being unknown, Banksy’s presence on the world’s stage is always felt.
The perfect book for the lockdown : The Midnight Library By Sophia Hadef I was wandering in the streets of Galway when it started raining. I decided to go to my favourite bookshop ever: Charlie Byrnes. I was not looking for a specific book when a beautiful dark blue shade attracted my eyes. The Midnight Library by Matt Haig was like a magnet. Its title, its cover – it has everything to please a bookworm like me. And when I read the quote in the back of the book. I knew. I knew I had to read it as soon as possible. “Between life and death, there is a library, and within that library, the shelves go on forever. Every book provides a chance to try another life you could have lived. To see how things would be if you had made other choices... Would you have done anything different, if you had the chance to undo your regrets?” The story is about Nora, a woman who is going through a terrible period in her life. She feels that everything is always going wrong, that she never made the right choice. She is consumed with regrets and decides to end her life. This is how Nora ends up in the Midnight Library – an in between life and death. There, she read the Book of Regrets and feels invaded with all the sad emotions she had experienced over her life. Nora had the choice to try many lives, each life stored within its own book, the lives she could have lived if she had made different decisions. Lives she could have lived if she had made different decisions. I loved following Nora in all these normal and extraordinary lives. It was fascinating and so rejuvenating. This book talks a lot about mental health and all these feelings that obstruct our minds with darkness. In these times more than ever, I recommend this
beautiful story as it changed my point of view on life, on things. Being a quite pessimistic person in general, I struggle to see the good in everything; this precious book is such a great motivation to believe in this life, this world. It had an impact on me. Matt Haig is a talented writer and I already bought another novel from him. The Guardian has described his writing as “delightfully weird” and the New York Times has called him “a novelist of great talent” whose writing is “funny, riveting and heart - breaking”. Below is a section of novel. “Nora had always had a problem accepting herself. From as far back as she could remember, she’d had the sense that she wasn’t enough. Her parents, who both had their own insecurities, had encouraged that idea. She imagined, now, what it would be like to accept herself completely. Every
mistake she had ever made. Every mark on her body. Every dream she hadn’t reached or pain she had left. Every lust or longing she had suppressed. She imagined accepting it all. The way she accepted nature. The way she accepted a glacier or a puffin or the breach of a whale. She imagined seeing herself as just another brilliant freak of nature. Just another sentient animal, trying their best. And in doing so, she imagined what it was like to be free.” This story is a light in the tunnel if you suffer from anxiety or depression. Always remember that you are not alone, and if you need to talk, there are people willing to listen. Call Pieta at 1800 247 247 or Text “Help” to 51444, Samaritans Ireland at 116 123 and Women’s Aid Ireland at 1800 341 900. Live fully, sense the things around you, close your eyes, breathe, and believe in yourself, you are unique.
Photo: Sophia Hadef
