Banksy - Fallen angel

This is a graffiti piece made by the famous graffiti artist Banksy, the piece is of an angel that is sitting on the ground with a cigarette in one hand and a bottle of alcohol by his feet. It is a stencil like piece that looks like it has been designed with the space in mind. Within the piece there is a oblivious drug reference with the cigarettes and the alcohol.  By using a fallen angel it suggests to the viewer the downfall of something wonderful, be it a person, society, or civilization as we know it, because an fallen angel is an angel who's ignored God and has chose to follow the devil.  This means that the angel has fallen from grace.  Most of Banksy's work is about or related to social issues so this fits in with the angel theme because it shows that even the best people sometimes fall from grace. This piece was controversial to religious people because it shows a hopeless angel sitting on the ground smoking a cigarette and holding a bottle of alcohol. Many people see this as an anti-religious statement, also because of the use of the fallen angel some might think of the biblical term that is often used to describe a fallen angel. A fallen angel is described as an angel who has sinned or an angel who has been cast down to the Earth from the War in Heaven.  However Banksy purposely created the piece to represent the falling of someone or something prominent in society
    Personally this is one of my favourite pieces of art work created by Banksy, this is because I like the meaning behind the fallen angel and the way he has used it to show that anyone or anything can fall from grace at any time.   

By Yasmin Garrett- Braden