Banksy tags the London Tube with masked-themed graffiti
Jul 16, 2020
Blink and you’ll miss it – Banksy‘s latest artwork has been seen recently on the walls of a train carriage on the London Tube, but it has since been removed by cleaners oblivious to the fact. Titled, “If you don’t mask – you don’t get,” the graffiti artwork by the England-based artist and activist is a response to the COVID-19 pandemic and what seems to be a statement on face masks.
A video posted on his Instagram two days ago (14 July) shows a man, believed to be Banksy himself, dressed in a clean-up suit boarding the Tube and spray painting the walls of a carriage.
While the theme of the artwork may be masks, the real stars of the show are the stencilled rats using masks as parachutes, holding hand sanitisers and sneezing.
As the minute-long Instagram video comes to a close, we see the phrase “I get lockdown” on a station wall, before the train’s doors close to reveal “but I get up again” – a nod to the 1997 hit song “Tubthumping” by Chumbawamba.
Transport for London have shared their appreciation for Banksy’s work; however, they confirmed that it was removed due to anti-graffiti policies. They went on to conclude that he is encouraged to design a more permanent message “in a suitable location.”