Di Maria De Paoli
Banksy confirms escaping inmate artwork on the wall of Reading Prison (in Reading, Berkshire,
England) is his: the street artist posted a video in which he shows the creation of the masterpiece
painted on Monday (March, 1).
The picture represents a prisoner who’s escaping from the jail by lowering himself from the walls
with bed sheets used as a rope. Reading Gaol has hosted Oscar Wilde for two years, so probably
the prisoner represented corresponds to this writer.
Immediately, people think the artwork belongs to Banksy and a few days later the artist confirms
this assumption by posting a video on his website and his social media profile.
The clip, entitled “Create Escape”, shows the background of the artwork’s creation, which took
place – as every Banksy’s masterpiece – at night and in secret. In the video we can see the stencil
technique and some fundamental steps in the development of the picture. Moreover, at the
beginning there’s a tribute to the art instructor, painter and television host Bob Ross, whose voice
remains throughout the video accompanying the images of Banksy’s work in progress.
Many people are trying to understand why Banksy made this picture. In 2013 Reading Gaol was
definitively closed and the promise to transform it into an artistic center was born: probably the
picture is an encouragement towards this transformation. Otherwise, as Paul Gough, expert and
vice-chancellor of Arts University Bournemouth, said, it aims at raising awareness of the power of
art and it allows the brick wall to be noticed and seen in a different way.
