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Critical Essay of a Painting by Banksy
Humanities B
By Jee Yeon
In 2005, Banksy, a British graffiti artist whose identify is not verified, has painted a host of graffito
in Gaza Strip, Bethlehem. ‘Kids in the beach’ drawn by Banksy is one of the graffito that was
drawn on “The Wall”, where it is located between Palestine and Israel. The painting ‘Kids in the
beach’ is an enigmatic picture that gives a little message about the conflict between Israel and
Palestine. In my point of view, this painting gives me a message of Palestine being restricted and
seeking for the freedom when considering about its subjects, origins, mediums and visual
elements.
The subjects in this painting are the kids and the scene of a beach. The two kids in this painting
are in a stopped manner, one of them standing straight, the other kneeling on his knees. I feel as if
I had disturbed them while they were playing on the beach, for one of the kids in the painting is
looking very fiercely. They both have an object of a bucket, which is normally used in the beach.
Also, their upper body is in naked, wearing only pants. In this way the artist shows the two kids
having fun in a particular place called beach. Besides, the two kids are grinning, which also shows
me that they are having a relaxed time. The view of the beach is also the main subject of this
painting, which relates with the kids as well. The clear sky and the magnificent view of the beach
give me the feeling of equanimity. However, this sight contradicts with the meaning of the wall,
which is known as a temporary security construction to hinder the entrance of suicide bombers
into Israel. Thus, the children look like seeking for peace when looked at their facial emotions,
both of them playing in the beach with a big smile.

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At the time of painting, conflict in the Middle East was still in tension. The tension between Israel
and Palestine and the relationship between the two kids and the scene of beach are similar. The
artist has used visual elements to communicate the origin of the painting. Two kids in this painting
are in black and the only object that is in color is the bucket. In my opinion, since the two kids are
in dark mood, it makes me to conclude that they are unfortunate, showing me that they are
Palestinians. I thought that Palestinians were hapless owing to Palestinians being restricted from
the structure of the barrier, making them difficult to get resources and medical services. On the
contrary, the scenery of the beach stands for the Israelis, for the image is painted in bright colors. I
believe that the artist wanted to reflect and highlight the situation between Israel and Palestine by
comparing the mood of the two kids and the life inside the hole. Also, he wanted give hope for
Palestinians by drawing the cracks along the image to show that the artist is hoping for the wall to
be broken.
The artist has used various mediums to form the picture. The basic materials that he needed to
create the picture were the wall (the background), stencil (used to create the cut design by the
application of paint through the holes) and a spray. This may have been use to create an effect of
speed since it was illegal to paint on the wall, especially on “The Wall”, which was used for
security not for artistic purpose. For this painting, he has already painted a poster of the beach and
stuck it with glue while he was spraying the stencils on the wall. Due to the fact that the artist was
not allowed to paint on the wall, he was well prepared with all the materials that he necessitated.
In this painting, the artist is attempting to express the messages of freedom and hope. To create this
feeling or idea, the artist focused on the major scenery of the painting. In contrast to the situation
that was being held in the Middle East, the beach shown in the painting represented peace and
nonviolence. One facet of the painting can be seen that the artist was trying to object to the war
between Israel and Palestine and aiming for peace. Another facet of the painting can be seen that

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the artist was trying to attract people’s attention to feel compassion for the Palestinians who is
suffers from the barrier. The artist strongly wanted to cease the conflict between Israel and
Palestine through the message in this painting. Overall, the work is successful in explaining the
hope and the need of freedom for Palestinians.