Banksyhas dropped a new mural in the UK, and the subject is something we can all relate to. The piece, called Mobile Lovers, depicts a couple embracing, but instead of gazing lovingly into each other's eyes, they're wrapped up in their cellphones.
Such witty (but safe) social critique is what we have come to expect out of the British stencil king, and in this mural, Banksy takes on our addiction to cellphones. The work is painted in a darkened doorway, suggesting an illicit affair, but instead of a dangerous trist, we get two people distracted by technology. The romantic glow is actually just the light from their screens.
While Banksy's publicist Jo Brooks has confirmed that Mobile Lovers is definitely a Banksy original, mediaoutletsare suggesting that Banksy has also put up a mural in Cheltenham, home to the headquarters of one of Britain's intelligence agencies, which is a commentary on state surveillance.
The alleged Banksy mural depicts three men in trench coats with old school surveillance equipment listening in on a phone booth. We have yet to hear back from Brooks if the mural is actually Banksy's work.
UPDATE APRIL 15 10:18 A.M. ET: A devoted Banksy fan identified the location of Mobile Lovers on Twitter today. The works appears on a doorway in Bristol, Banksy's hometown, on Clement Street. Below is a Google Street View image of the location pre-Banksy.
UPDATE APRIL 15 2:10 P.M. ET: Banksy's street art has been removed with a crowbar by the Broad Plains Boys Club, an organization which stands at the end of Clement Street, where Mobile Lovers was located. A note has been placed on the former Banksy site explaining that the piece was removed "to prevent vandalism or damage being done." The Club is currently looking for funds to allow it to stay open, and its directors believe that holding Banksy's work hostage the presence of Mobile Lovers will bring attention to their need.
Banksy’s “Mobile Lovers” has been removed from its location in Bristol. #banksy pic.twitter.com/5yWlb0vHvi
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[via Street Art News / New York Times]
