Banging your head against a brick wall

Yesterday I got my order from e-bay in the mail box. it's the first book published by Banksy in 2001 and costed me 68 dollars (used, but in good shape). In the 90s Banksy was a free hand graffiti painter and writer. In 2000 he changed style and began to make stencil works in the streets of Bristol and London. The photos are mainly taken by Steve Lazarides who later became Banksy's agent.

Simple Intelligence Testing in Dumb Animals (Facsimile from 'Banging your head against a brick wall')

The book is small, the size of a passport, but it's forcasting what we now know as an intelligent and  multitalented artist, by his writing, his prints and his street art. Banksy was, and still is, a publisher and an activist!

facsimile from 'Banging your head against a brick wall'

 It's a lot of text in the book, sometimes self biographical and begins like this " You could say that Graffiti is ugly, selfish and that it's just the action of people who wants some pathetic kind of fame. But if that's true it's only because graffiti writers are just like everyone else in this fucking country"

facsimile from 'Banging your head against a brick wall'

Banksy was born in Bristol in 1974. He is son of a photocopier technician and he trained as a butcher. His skills in printing and his ability to cut through the crap with words that are sharp as a butchers' knife are now famous. A small, but great book.