The anonymous street artist Banksy posted a photo of a mysterious artwork depicting the Virgin Mary breastfeeding infant Jesus on Instagram this morning, December 16. Notably, the image features what appears to be a water drainage hole with a rust-red stain in place of Mary’s nipple, evoking a bullet wound or other injury.
The post’s cropped image composition and lack of caption have spawned multiple theories in the comments section, with many users suggesting that the artwork is symbolic of the ongoing fatal attacks against mothers and children in Gaza. Others suggested that the piece could be a commentary on hazardous chemicals and the dangers they pose to our offspring.
The location and nature of the artwork remain unknown, with some suggestions that it is not a new mural but rather an existing piece. On a Reddit thread about the artwork, one user claimed that the work is a standalone painting that was for sale at a private buyers’ show in Spitalfields in London last February.
Banksy’s management team, the Pest Control Office, did not immediately respond to Hyperallergic‘s inquiries.
With so much room for speculation coupled with Banksy’s demonstrated solidarity with Palestine over the last two decades, it’s unsurprising that commenters assume the street artist is alluding to the dire conditions in Gaza. Banksy has previously incorporated the Virgin Mary motif in his practice, as in “Toxic Mary” (2003), a dripping stenciled image of the holy mother feeding her baby with a bottle full of poison that spawned subsequent spin-off works and print series, and the “Madonna con la pistola” mural in Naples, Italy. Both images invoke Mary’s likeness as a vehicle for societal and faith-based criticism.
Scenes around infant Jesus have become polarizing this Christmas season with regard to symbols of solidarity — last week, the Vatican came under intense scrutiny for a commissioned Nativity scene designed and created by Palestinian artists that included the model of Jesus lying on a keffiyeh in his manger. The model, the manger, and the keffiyeh were subsequently removed within days of the scene’s inauguration at Paul VI Hall.
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