British street artist Banksy has confirmed his involvement in a dramatic stunt during British punk band Idles' performance at the Glastonbury Festival on Friday night. During the band's rendition of "Danny Nedelko," a song that criticizes right-wing immigration policies, an inflatable life raft carrying dummies in orange life jackets, symbolizing migrants, was launched and crowd-surfed.
The song's lyrics highlight the plight of immigrants, with lines like, "My blood brother is an immigrant, a beautiful immigrant, my blood brother’s Freddie Mercury, a Nigerian mother of three. He’s made of bones, he’s made of blood, he’s made of flesh, he’s made of love, he’s made of you, he’s made of me, unity.”
Banksy, whose real identity remains unconfirmed, did not inform the band, who hail from his hometown of Bristol, about the stunt beforehand. The artist shared footage of the event on his Instagram page without a caption.
The stunt occurred just days before the United Kingdom's general election on July 4, in which the Conservative Party has emphasized its policy to prevent undocumented migrants from crossing the English Channel. British Home Secretary James Cleverly criticized the artwork, calling it “vile,” “not funny,” and “a celebration of the loss of life in the Channel.” Critics argued that Cleverly missed the installation's point.
Banksy's past work includes the 2015 "bemusement park" Dismaland in Weston-super-Mare, which featured toy boats filled with migrant figures to highlight the refugee crisis. Additionally, Banksy has financed the M.V. Louise Michel, a boat dedicated to rescuing refugees attempting to reach Europe from Africa.
1719216094-0/BeFunky-collage-(85)1719216094-0-270x192.webp "elon musk responds to 7 year old girl reporting tesla bug")
COMMENTS
Comments are moderated and generally will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive.
For more information, please see our Comments FAQ