From Wednesday, the work of late New York grafitti artist Jean-Michel Basquiat will be exhibited at the Barbican in London. To pay tribute to this grafitti artist, who died in 1988 of a suspected drug overdose, two new works by Banksy have appeared on the walls near the exhibition. The work uses Banksy's style merged with the style of Basquait, and Banksy attributes this to an unofficial collaboration. I went over to see the new work at lunch, and they had attracted a miniature crowd.
The main mural is inspired by the 1982 work "Boy and Dog in a Johnnypump". The new mural shows the signature man and dog (in Basquait's style) being welcomed by the police (in Banksy's stencil style).
I am not sure who added the illustration of the man with the skateboard and crown as this was not included in Banksy's original piece.
The second mural shows Basquait's style of Ferris wheel on a black background with Banksy's style of artwork, a stencil of a ticket box and people queuing below the wheel.
A silver foil crown had been placed at the foot of the artwork.
An older Banksy stencil is located only a couple of blocks away. The stencil is of one of Banksy's famous rats. It is holding an "I love London" sign, which was added to by Robbo. Robbo was a grafitti artist who had a famous bickering with Banksy.
Have you seen the new works by Banksy, and what do you think? Does anyone have any ideas who added to Banksy's mural and who placed the foil crown?
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