Anonymous street artist Banksy posted a photo of a mysterious artwork depicting the Virgin Mary breastfeeding baby Jesus Instagram this morning, December 16th. Strikingly, the image shows a water drainage hole with a rust-red stain where Maria’s nipple is located, reminiscent of a gunshot wound or other injury.
The cropped image composition and lack of a caption have sparked multiple theories in the comments section, with many users suggesting that the artwork is symbolic of the ongoing deadly attacks on mothers and children in Gaza. Others suggested the piece could be a commentary on dangerous chemicals and the dangers they pose to our descendants.
The location and nature of the artwork remain unknown, with some suggestions that it is not a new mural, but rather an existing piece. On one Reddit thread about the artwork, one user claimed that the work was a standalone painting sale at a private buyer’s fair at Spitalfields in London last February.
Banksy’s management team, the Pest Control Office, did not immediately respond Hyperallergic‘s questions.
With so much room for speculation in combination with Banksy’s demonstrations solidarity with Palestine across the last two decadesit is not surprising that commentators assume that the street artist is referring to the dire conditions in Gaza. Banksy has previously incorporated the Virgin Mary motif into his practice, as in “Toxic Maria” (2003), a dripping stencilled image of the holy mother feeding her baby from a bottle full of poison that emerged subsequent spin-off works and print series, and the “Madonna with the gun‘mural painting in Naples, Italy. Both images evoke the likeness of Mary as a vehicle for social and faith-based criticism.
Scenes surrounding the baby Jesus have become polarizing this Christmas season when it comes to symbols of solidarity – last week the Vatican came under intense scrutiny for a commissioned nativity scene designed and created by Palestinian artists, including the model of Jesus lying on a keffiyeh in his manger. The model, manger and keffiyeh were subsequently removed from the scene in Paul VI Hall within days of the inauguration.
