Graffiti Distinctively Visual Essay

Graffiti is a form of art that has no restrictions or boundaries since it is just text or drawings scribbled, scratched, or sprayed on any public wall or other surface. These surfaces can be buildings, street signs, statues, and even other works of arts. Although graffiti is considered an act of vandalism, many graffiti images have deep meanings behind them. Graffiti is a form of art that people use to express themselves and to convey various messages to people in a particular community, as is the case with the works of the anonymous British street artist, Banksy. His work often encounters countries with political themes, war, hypocrisy and greed, including Palestine. Located on a building in Bethlehem Palestine, Banksy painting shows a white

Banksy did not choose to paint this image in Palestine, not to mention the specific building it was painted on, on a whim. Actually, if the "Armoured Dove" were painted in any other place, it would have little meaning to the people of its location. This area is essential to the image's rhetoric, since the wall is the site where many Palestinians were massacred during the First Intifada(cite in boomark). Intifada is an Arabic word meaning "to shake off," and is the term used to describe the two major uprisings against Israeli military occupation of the West Bank and Gaza Strip (overview of intifadas). The first intifada took place in late 1987 till 1993. This uprising resulted in the deaths of over 1500 Palestinians, including those who were gathered up and shot along this wall in Bethlehem (“The First Initfada”). Palestinians have not forgotten the barbarity that occurred along that wall, and so this specific site awakened many dark memories. The "Armoured Dove" was painted in Bethlehem, which is the holy land for Jews, Christians,

The dove’s bulletproof vest shows fierceness while the olive branch shows innocence. Even more noticeable is the red crosshairs aimed on the dove. The combination of these two symbolism of military equipments highlights the possible danger, and even the short-lived nature of the peace in occupied land of Palestine. The sniper scope is aiming at the dove's heart, which further instills this feeling of sympathy and desired change as the crosshair threatens to kill "peace". This small detail represents how peace in Palestine can easily be terminated by either group involved. For example, if one Palestinian were to shoot or even threaten an Israeli, more violent disturbance would occur and the entire conflict would