Jan. 11, 2011

Banksy is the graffitti artist whose own anonymity he protects. It is therefore hard to link him to a date in the almanac. However a Bonhams sale on January 11, 2011 includes a poster he made for Greenpeace. The poster shows characters from Disney's Jungle Book film, blindfolded and tied before a figure with an axe, obviously a representative of environmental degradation. There is in the background a ruined forest sketched.

Below is a quote from a blurb for the sale:

An original art work by the legendary street artist, Banksy, for a Greenpeace Save or Delete campaign photographic poster, is to be sold at Bonhams, New Bond Street, as part of its Urban Art sale on 11 January 2011. Estimated at £60,000 - 80,000, the unique piece (lot 67) was given to the vendor by the artist himself. The art work was commissioned by Greenpeace to highlight the problems of global deforestation as part of their Save or Delete campaign. The image, which features some of the main characters from Disney’s The Jungle Book transposed onto a picture of a devastated forest, was intended for use on posters, billboards and postcards. While it was printed, it was never put into circulation because of the protectionist policies at Disney. A version of this poster is illustrated in Banksy’s Wall and Piece book.

One of the figures bound and blindfolded is a tiger.