Last weekend, I took the opportunity to visit the ‘controversial’ Banksy versus Bristol Museum exhibition. For any cultural hermits, Banksy gained notoriety by using stencils to paint images on a diverse array of outdoor locations – graffiti in other words. The Banksy exhibition presents a considerable body of work and many 3D pieces which were unfamiliar to me. I’m not going to add my opinion to the “is this art, debate? But look at what appeals to me, professionally. He’s a great communicator. A populist, where his work is instant and immediate and not highbrow. You may not like the contemporary subject matter, or his medium, but you cannot argue with his creative power of expression. There’s satire, there’s wit, there’s social criticism. Delivered invariably by the juxtaposition of images and double meaning, all of which is very hard to do, and do well.

He’s a modern day William Hogarth and our streets (and museums) are a better place because of Banksy.