Secretive artist Banksy's art appears on Paris walls

Thought-provoking paintings attributed to secretive artist Banksy have been appearing on the streets of Paris, France in recent days.

Many elements traditionally associated with the artist from the west of the UK whose identity has been kept a closely-guarded secret are visible in the seven works that have appeared in Parisian settings.

"Banksy, world star of urban art, is in Paris!," said art website Artistik Rezo, whose editor, Nicolas Laugero Lasserre, insists he knew the artist had planned a painting incursion in France's capital.

"Probably the most famous street artist in the world, the 43-year-old from Bristol, England, Banksy invades the capital with seven new wall paintings so far," the statement added.

One image shows a rat riding atop a flying cork that appears to have been shot out of a champagne bottle, Efe reported.

Rats are a metaphor for "art" often used by Banksy.

Another rat was found in the Sorbonne neighbourhood, renowned for student riots that shook Paris and the world in the spring of 1968, wearing a Minnie Mouse bow on her head under letters spelling out "May 1968".

One of the most poignant images, that of a veiled woman in apparent mourning, was found in a doorway next to the Bataclan concert venue where a terror attack in November 2015 left 89 people dead.

"It is an extraordinary chance to have Banksy in Paris," said Laugero Lasserre. "As always, his interventions arrive at a key political moment, urging citizens and government to change the paradigm on the migration issue," he added.

Laugero Lasserre is also a director of ICART, a college for the management of culture and of the art market.

One work depicts a serious-looking man holding a saw offering a bone to a dog with one of its legs sawn off.

--IANS

qd