Over in Israel there lies a 425 mile long barrier known as the West Bank which separates Israel from Palestinian territories. The barrier's origin lie in government mandated security measures. While the West Bank may protect citizens from the warfare between the two fighting lands, many find it to be illegal obstruction. To artists like Banksy the West Bank was just begging to be a canvas. In 2005, the Robin Hood of street art journeyed to the the Middle East, where heavily armed Israeli forces and security barbed wire fences around the West Bank made it the quite challenging setting for Banksy's stencils. By the n of his tour of duty in the West Bank, Banksy left nine stencils completed along the wall, depicting children building sandcastles, and peaks at a tropical paradise that lay beyond the wall. The silhouettes of children holding on to rising balloons and other artwork along the barrier were poignant, hopefully images and didn't depict any bitterness or anger that a political activist like Banksy felt towards the Palestinian government. In a departure from his signature sadistic humor, the street artist essentially traveled to the Middle East to deliver a stencil of hope. These nine stencils done across the planet make No.2 on this list because it demonstrates the discipline Banksy has to his work. Traveling from the UK to Israel and overcoming harsh security with an already frowned upon art form takes a lot of dedication. Even if Palestinian forces didn't exactly commend Banksy for his work, being able a peak into a tropical paradise behind the concrete barrier will go down in history as one of Banksy's ballsiest moves.
Freelance writer and podcaster from Long Island,New York. Recent college graduate with a BA in Writing. Movie-buff who continues to write his own screenplays and has a passion for Quentin Tarantino movies, Doctor Who, and Radiohead. Loves to write, all about getting the exposure online and finding ways to tell his story.
