British street artist Banksy has a new political statement, this time in the form of a hotel in Bethlehem.
Banksy opened the hotel in an area destroyed by the conflict between Palestine and Israel. The Walled Off Hotel has ten rooms available for booking, complete with politically charged art on each wall. The purpose of the hotel, he says, is to bring tourism and jobs to a region whose economy has been crippled. The artist also hopes to begin a dialogue surrounding the conflict.
He doesn’t usually comment on his work, but this project appears to be a little different. He has spray-painted a wall of the hotel with these words: “If we wash our hands of the conflict between the powerful and the powerless we side with the powerful – we don’t remain neutral.”
Guardian reporter Emma Graham-Harrison visited the hotel, and posted some pictures to her Twitter feed:
[twitter][/twitter] [twitter]#Banksy posted tiny portion of this mural from his new hotel on Instragram this mornin. Here's the whole pillow fight pic.twitter.com/5GYin0n3pm
— Emma Graham-Harrison (@_EmmaGH) March 3, 2017
[/twitter]Rubble covers the fire at #Banksy barrier wall hotel in Bethlehem pic.twitter.com/kAjsslCYCN
— Emma Graham-Harrison (@_EmmaGH) March 3, 2017