Artworks

CCTV Britannia by Banksy, originally exhibited on the occasion of Banksy vs Bristol Museum exhibition in 2009, depicts the personified British-nation representation of Britannia, with her shield, spear and lion. This parody of the heritage monument located in Plymouth, Devon, to celebrate the defeat of the Spanish by the British is transformed by Banksy with the spear becoming a support for a closed circuit camera (CCTV), a symbol of social control pervasive in Great Britain since the end of the 90’s. The theme of CCTV cameras and 'big brother watching' has been treated by the artist in various representations. One notable version is surely the wall painting 'One Nation under CCTV' executed in 2007 on the wall of a building in use by the Royal Mail monitored by a camera in Newman Street, London.