Game changer
| Game changer |
|---|
| Banksy , 2020 |
| approx. 100 x approx. 100 cm |
Privately owned (Southampton General Hospital), Southampton , United Kingdom
Link to the picture |
Game Changer is a 2020 painting by British street artist Banksy . It was hung in the foyer of Southampton General Hospital - the largest clinic of the National Health Service in the southern English city of Southampton - at the beginning of May 2020 and shows a boy at play with one Doll in the form of a nurse who has replaced his discarded cartoon characters as the new superhero of the COVID-19 pandemic .
description
The canvas painting shows a boy wearing a T-shirt and dungarees who is playing with a doll in the form of a nurse with mouth and nose protection . Next to the boy is a wastebasket in which there are two more discarded dolls that are based on the comic characters Batman and Spider-Man . The boy's posture as well as the cape and the posture of the doll make it clear that the nurse has now assumed the role of the superhero in the game.
Origin and classification
The painting was hung by Banksy, in consultation with the facility's management, in a foyer near the emergency room at Southampton General Hospital in Southampton, England. On the painting was a note from Banksy: “Thanks for all you're doing. I hope this brightens the place up a bit, even if its only black and white "(German:" Thank you for everything you do. I hope that it brightens the place up a bit, even if it is only black and white "). Banksy confirmed the authorship on his Instagram account.
Although the painting is not one of Banksy's well-known stencil graffiti , the reference to Banksy's earlier work is evident through the design - in particular the red cross on the nurse's apron as the only colored pictorial element.
The title Game Changer - as a combination of the words Game (German: Spiel ) and Changer (German: Veränderer ) - can hardly be translated into German. The term refers to a person, a corporation or an event that fundamentally changes the situation, or implements something traditional in a completely new way. In this respect, SARS-CoV-2 and COVID-19 are game changers that pose new challenges for mankind in many ways. In Banksy's painting, the term is also modified and given new meanings: The boy - who throws away his superhero characters in favor of the nurse - is literally a game changer and the nurse is to be understood as such in Banksy's new sense. In his portrayal, Banksy assigns this to the role of the superhero, who, in the tradition of fictional comic characters, fights against a catastrophe with superhuman performance.
Numerous SARS-CoV-2 patients were treated at Southampton General Hospital - a university hospital. A clinic spokeswoman described the painting as a strong motivation for employees and patients. It is to stay there until autumn 2020, after which it will be auctioned and the proceeds will benefit the National Health Service.
Web links
- Art in the hospital. Banksy bows to "Corona Heroes" , tagesschau.de, May 7, 2020
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c Caroline Goldstein: Banksy Just Made a Surprisingly Earnest Painting of a Superhero Nurse and Donated It to a British Hospital as a Morale Booster. In: artnet news. May 6, 2020, accessed May 7, 2020 .
- ^ A b Will Gompertz: New Banksy artwork appears at Southampton hospital. May 6, 2020, accessed May 7, 2020 .
- ↑ Banksy thanks the heroes of the Corona crisis. May 7, 2020, accessed May 7, 2020 .