Banksy's valentine message.

[placemats]

I'm unsure about the message it sends. Women do not need to lose teeth or get a black eye to experience domestic violence. Nor should the answer to violent and coercive men be to throw them in the freezer. Will men who are violent get this message? www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-kent-64635362

Can't paste the actual photo.

It sends the message that Banksy produces derivative sixth form trash, no change there then.

Hopefully the local council will fine him for fly tipping 😉

The photo is in the article

If the women's supposed to have pushed the guy in the freezer how did his feet wind up on the other side. If she pushed him so hard he somersault his feet would be the other way up.....

It's art
It's an interpretation of a scenario

Perhaps it could be construed as an old fashioned depiction of domestic violence. However my question still stands. Will men get this? I don't seen that the majority will.

What I take from this is a bloke standing up making a statement to say he is against DV whilst so many look away.

It doesn't bother me if his delivery isn't perfect.

To me when the majority vocally stand against it the minority are under more pressure to change and have more eyes on them to (predominantly) women's benefit.

If the question is will men understand the domestic violence reference, I think most would. Precisely because it is the stereotypical presentation of domestic violence and even a cliche joke about how a women might react. Something more subtle would not be understood by most.

is it good art? That is an entirely different question.

@andweallsingalong you nailed it

I opened this post with such trepidation and am relieved to see Banksy doing something that at least references violence against women. It’s provocative and gritty - not pretty. Looks like a bit of opportunistic artwork inspired by the fly-tipping. When the council remove the freezer he’s going to have to fill in the blank space - unless the freezer has suddenly become a piece of art in its own right?! Quick! Hire a van 😊

Perhaps the guy was sat on the edge of the open freezer and somehow has fallen backwards into it. The woman is in the process of reaching out to finish slamming the lid, which had partly closed on him. That's my interpretation anyway.

Nice he's done something against DV, even if it is a bit muddled.

It makes a change to see violence against women acknowledged. There have been lots of campaigns such as Black Lives Matter, Extinction Rebellion in this country but you hear so little about violence against women, which is an enormous problem in this country. If Banksy wants to give a nod to women in his style then that’s fine in my book. Sometimes this Valentine’s Day crap needs a bit of biting subversion.

And I feel the 50's clothes is a message to say not much has changed in some ways.

She's clearing out the trash.

Dumping the wife beater among the other rubbish.

That's true. It has a Ladybird mum type feeling about it.

I quite like it.

Having a good valentine's clear out, dump him with the unwanted rubbish.

My only concern is that the Andrew Tate types will see this as women being just as abusive as men, when this is clearly not the case.

Yes of course women don’t need to lose teeth or get black eyes to experience domestic violence but if you are capturing a victim of domestic violence in one simple image, then physical injuries is the obvious way. He’s not saying the answer is to put abusers in the fridge, you’re taking it too literally. He has just used the fridge that is already there and incorporated it into an image of a woman rebelling against abuse. It’s subverting the image of the traditional housewife and making it a powerful and disturbing image to provoke a reaction.

I think Banksy is brilliant, nobody like him artwise, his art is spot on....sends powerful messages and creates world conversation about a full range of world issues that need addressing and thinking about. This piece shows I think that women will no longer tolerate DV and will do what they need to in order to sort out these issues and Banksy doing his thing is wonderful ....the lady in the picture has a wicked smile as if to say, don't stand for any nonsense..as she closes the freezer door ...brill....

He’s trying to acknowledge and make a statement against DV, why do we have to try and find the bad in that when so so many men do absolutely nothing at all.

I think it's brilliant.

Exactly. I don’t want Banksy to be subtle and nuanced, I want his art to slap everyone with reality. Job done.

It is like most art: you can interpret it how you like. The interpretation is the point.

I suppose that he is being subversive in that the subjects are not stereotypical knuckle-draggers, they could be your - apparently - naice neighbours. DV is more common than you (you=the populace) think.