A homeless man becomes Santa Claus in Banksy's new mural in Birmingham, which reminds us of the importance of solidarity.
A Christmas we should all be kinder, on the other hand this is the philosophy of Santa and Banksy, who has always fought against injustice, decided to interpret it literally, making a very special Christmas gift: an imaginary sled painted next to a bench on which sleeps a homeless man.
Banksy commented on the video that shoots the man, unaware of being filmed, with these words:
“God bless Birmingham. In the 20 minutes we filmed Ryan on this bench, passersby offered him a hot drink, two chocolate bars and a lighter, without him ever asking for anything ”.
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Post post by Banksy (@banksy)
The mural, the artist's first in the city of Birmingham, depicts two flying reindeer who appear to be carrying the imaginary sled / bench on which the homeless man sleeps.
And while he rests, the street artist observes not only him, but above all the reaction of passers-by, some of whom, instead of continuing straight without turning, offer him food and hot drinks several times.
With this work Banksy wanted to focus on homeless of the United Kingdom, often forced to sleep outdoors despite freezing temperatures. In the hope of encouraging people to be more sympathetic to them and to take steps to counter this sad reality.
More humanity is needed, not just at Christmas, and this is perhaps the best time to remember!
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Photo Credit: Instagram
