Shropshire Star

Banksy installs new art piece in Birmingham highlighting homelessness

Legendary artist Banksy has installed a new art piece in Birmingham to highlight the growing homelessness problem in the UK.

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Banksy's new installation in Birmingham. Picture from: https://www.banksy.co.uk/

The piece, located on Vyse Street in the Jewellery Quarter, shows two reindeer painted on a wall as if pulling a bench as a sleigh.

In a video posted to the Bristol artist's Instagram page, the bench is occupied by a homeless man and his belongings, identified only as 'Ryan' by the world-famous artist.

The anonymous artist posted on his Instagram: "God bless Birmingham.

"In the 20 minutes we filmed Ryan on this bench passers-by gave him a hot drink, two chocolate bars and a lighter - without him ever asking for anything."

Birmingham residents were sent into a frenzy earlier this year after a mural, located in Gibb Street, was said to carry a resemblance to the artist's work.

However, it was later revealed Compassion in World Farming commissioned the creative street art to "help raise public awareness of the need for mandatory method of production labelling on meat and dairy products."

In 2018, work on a wall in Windsor Street, Duddeston also attracted Banksy comparisons, but was later revealed to be by Birmingham-based graffiti artist Itchers.

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