When it was spotted by someone walking around the area, it was assumed Banksy himself had made the addition, but it is not certain. (Source: Twitter @Anth0ny_Ward)
In what seems to be most befitting, anonymous street artist Banksy’s work The Girl With The Pierced Eardrum — inspired by Johannes Vermeer’s painting The Girl With The Pearl Earring — has received an interesting makeover. The piece of art now appears with a giant face mask in Bristol’s Albion Docks.
When it was spotted by someone walking around the area, it was assumed Banksy himself had made the addition, but it is not certain.
The artwork had first appeared in October 2014.
Just last week, Banksy posted a series of photographs of his new and latest work, inside his own bathroom! He had covered his bathroom stall with rats. They were seen rolling down the toilet paper, squirting toothpaste from the tube, urinating in the commode, and hanging from the bathroom mirror.
“My wife hates it when I work from home,” the artist had captioned the post.
This was not the first instance wherein the artist had used rats to make a social commentary. It is believed that he started his career stenciling rodents all over England with phrases like ‘Our Time Will Come’ and ‘Because I’m Worthless’, inspired by French graffiti artist Blek le Rat, who is hailed as the ‘father of stencil graffiti’.
It is purported that rats are used to send the message that even though efforts are being made to remove the graffiti art from the walls, they keep cropping up, just like the rodents.
The true identity of the artist remains unknown, though it is believed that Bristol is his home.