Artist Focus | Banksy

Capturing everyday moments in a unique and frank way, Banksy's street art draws attention to world's events and highlights issues within society in a controversial yet real manner.

While some would view Banksy as nothing more than a graffiti artist and vandal, his artwork speaks volumes about modern day society and he's paved the way for other street artists to put out their messages about the world we live in whether it be about racism, animal cruelty or sexuality to name a few examples.

While partaking in the Birmingham city walk to gain an research for our own work, my first port of call was Digbeth and I was overwhelmed by the amount of street art on show and I found Banksy influence in a lot of it. The majority of Digbeth is a fairly rundown and industrial part of town, but around almost every corner are the most colourful and intricate pieces of art that I've ever seen and most of them carry a message similar to those that Banksy puts out.

I think Banky's main appeal is his anonymity and the fact that he's not interested in fame and fortune, but rather just making his voice heard - recently one of his art works sold for a cool million pounds only to shredded in the frame Banksy himself had set up years earlier in case the art should sell!

His works of art are often humorous and a play on words and images, while still delivering a strong message and I think half the excitement is not know what he's going to do next and where another one of his pieces is going to show up. We recently had one in my hometown of Hull, and it was all anyone could talk about - until the council painted over it.

Above all, I think Banksy is so popular because he brings us together as a society through art and makes us think differently about the world around us. He's not afraid to break rules or laws to get his message shown to the masses and I think over time, his voice has become one that's respected and listened to, despite him still being anonymous!