Banksy’s new mural in collaboration with Borf, aka John Tsombikos, brings jailed Turkish artist Zehra Dogan’s work to New York.
New Banksy NYC mural supports jailed Turkish artist
by Janon Fisher
New York Daily News
March 17, 2018
Mysterious British graffiti artist Banksy can”™t stay away from the Big Apple.
After tagging the clock face on a West Village bank, he moved east Thursday, with a sidewalk to rooftop display drawing attention to the plight of a jailed artist.
The 70-foot mural on the Houston Bowery Graffiti Wall shows Turkish artist Zehra Dogan trapped behind a set of hashmarks meant to symbolize her prison bars.
Dogan was sentenced to nearly three years in jail for painting a the town of Nasybin laid waste by the Turkish after a battle with Kurdish forces.
She copied the photo from a newspaper then painted it in watercolor, adding Turkish flags to the scene, according to her publicist.
Dogan was arrested after she posted the image on social media.
The timing of the mural marks the one year anniversary of her incarceration.
Her watercolor stretches out across the top of the building where Banksy has painted his mural.
“I really feel for her. I”™ve painted things much more worthy of a custodial sentence,” Banksy told The New York Times in a statement.