Headline, July31, 2013

'''THE GLOW OF THE EXPLOSIVE 

DEVICE'''

I guess you might call it an art experience. By the next to last day of my quest for Banksy, I had seen dozens and dozen of his works on walls and overpasses and galleries, and I had seen the glow on the faces of dozens people as they contemplated Banksy, the kind of glow that you see when religious people talk about God to a lot of people, and he brings them a kind of comfort.

Well, here's what happened: It was a simple print, and it was one of the most beautiful things I ever saw, and I had to have it. It's just a really simple screen print of a little schoolgirl hugging a bomb with a huge smile on her face, and the background is just matte pink. Pink makes the print soft and appealing to the eye, but at the same time, it's completely twisted and morbid. And it just wants to make you cry. Or smile, depending.

A guy named Steve, who is the owner of the picture on Walls, a company that prints and sells all of Banksy's screen prints online and to the galleries, gave it to me as a gift. Steve is probably the guy closest to Banksy. Well, I got that print, and because I was burning out I left it on the ground just outside the train turnstile.

I realised my folly and ran back : ''Hey, man! That's mine, dude. Don't touch it!'' He then told me that he works at one of the concession shops and when he saw the tube standing there by itself, it looked suspicious, and he thought it was a Bomb. Instead i told him that it was in fact -A Bomb-. I showed the screen print to him.

''It's called Bomb Hugger,'' I said and got a chuckle out of him.

The night before I was supposed to leave, I found myself hanging out at a pub in downtown London with three friends I'd made along the way while searching for Banksy, all of whom were cool people and extremely close to him. We were all just hanging out at a pub, having a good time, killing time as well as brain cells. Whoever or Whatever Banksy is  -some people say that Banksy is a group of people- I had given up on finding him.

A majority of what happened after the last call, remains a blur, but the next thing i knew, I was at some locked-door after-hours party, partaking in some highly illegal activity with my art friends when all of a sudden a fifth guy showed up. At first i didn't pay too much attention to this new guy? and why he is here? I stared at him for a minute and ran down the mental checklist: five foot five, doesn't dress or look like a graffiti artist, reserved, quiet, chill, watcher and not a talker, white, the last guy you'd ever expect, et cetera.

Jesus this guy totally fits the profile.

I reached over really secretively and tapped the should of the guy next to me. ''Dude, that guy is Banksy.'' I whispered, loud enough for Banksy to hear me.

I studies his face to see how he reacted to my discovery. he just sort of shrugged it off in a manner that didn't say Yes or NO. Exactly, exactly, what Banksy would do 

I stood up and pointed and took a couple of steps back and away from him. ''Dude! You're Banksy! I found you, man!'' 

He looked at me, smiled, lifted his drink to his lips. Everything got quiet. A moment went by.

''Banksy, man, that's You, right??!!''

With respectful dedication to all the Students and Professors of Bangladesh. See ya all on the World Students Society Computers-Internet-Wireless : Shape-Shifting Plastic.

Good Night & God Bless!

SAM Daily Times - the Voice of the Voiceless