Banksy™ Early Counting Set
Engage all your child’s learning muscles with this fun counting game. See how many figures they can fit in the truck while it makes a quick stop. Wipe clean finish, contains small parts unsuitable for under 12’s.
Proceeds from the sale of this item are used to support migrant rescue missions in the Mediterranean. Italian courts have ruled this illegal, so customers are advised the purchase of this item could constitute a criminal offence.
Edition: 5
Release Price: GBP 750
Signed
Early Learning Counting Set makes reference to the ongoing refugee crisis in Europe, in which thousands of people have died attempting to cross the Mediterranean and the English Channel in a bid to escape the oppressive regimes or ongoing conflicts of their mother countries.
With his usual cynical and striking humor, Banksy has decided to address this tragic issue through a kid’s counting game. It shows a couple loading their belongings and baby into the back of a lorry of the kind that passes frequently through Europe’s industrial ports. Meanwhile a crowd including a doctor, a young chemist and a firefighter look on, their uniforms clearly showing them to be professionals while the migrant family are dressed anonymously, reflecting the public’s attitudes towards them.
Perhaps in order to assuage the criticism this piece was expected to receive, Banksy originally intended all profits from its sale to go to charities that help rescue refugees, however some will surely still see it as a work of insensitive satire on the artist’s part.
Banksy has always been very involved with the refugees crisis in Europe. In August 2020, the world discovered he had funded a 31 meter boat to rescue refugees making their way from North Africa to Europe.
Located in the Mediterranean Sea, the bright pink boat features the word “RESCUE” on its side, and the iconic Girl with Balloon can be found on the other side of the boat. Instead of reaching for a balloon this time, she’s reaching for a a heart-shaped life ring. The boat was named the “Louise Michel,” after the French feminist anarchist.
