Banksy returns with a seasonal message in Central London

Two children lie on their backs, dressed in warm clothes, looking up at the night sky in two central London locations. The works, confirmed by Banksy on his Instagram, would appear to reference the plight of homeless children and are particularly poignant on the run up to Christmas with a cold snap on the way. They seem to reference the Oscar Wilde quote “We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars.”

They first appeared on the morning of Saturday 20th December. First to be found was the as yet unclaimed work at the foot of the Centre Point Tower. It’s on street defences designed not to be moved – or slept upon, with their angled tops and studs every few feet. The location of this piece cannot be a coincidence. In 1969 Centre Point stood empty, owned by property speculators while at its base were young rough sleepers. A local Reverend set up a shelter for them in the Soho area and called the charity Centrepoint. This charity has expanded over the years and now offers support to over 15000 young people every year. Centre Point itself was occupied by housing campaigners in 1974 in protest, an event which gained widespread media coverage at the time.

There were rumours of a second piece as early as Saturday but it wasn’t until the following Monday that a second location was confirmed. This time it was found in a quiet residential location above garages in the gentler surroundings of Bayswater. It was this piece that Banksy confirmed on his Instagram account. A night time shot taken from a specific spot revealed that the children were again looking up at a star above – in this case a red light on top of a crane in the background. Banksy locations are always chosen carefully but this one is a remarkable combination of hard scouting and vision.