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A limited number of screen-prints quietly appeared at this year’s Glastonbury Terminal 1 and by the festival’s final day, it was sold out. The artwork depicts a dinghy packed with passengers in vivid orange lifejackets, lifted aloft by a sea of outstretched arms. Sound familiar? It should. The image echoes the now-iconic inflatable boat Banksy sent crowdsurfing across the Pyramid Stage last summer. Read more here.
Glastonbury 2024. Image copyright GraffitiStreet
This year’s two colour layered screen-print was released in small, daily batches and strictly one per customer, available throughout the day and as word spread the edition was completely sold out by Sunday. With its bold black-and-white stencil work and bright orange accents, the piece collapses two contrasting realities: the exuberance of festival crowdsurfing and the life-or-death stakes of migrant crossings.
Glastonbury 2025. Image copyright GraffitiStreet
Unlike last year’s life-sized, moving installation, this was a tangible object. Banksy hasn’t officially claimed the print, but following an art intervention so impactful, and with the unmistakable style and symbolism, many believe it’s unmistakably his.
Glastonbury 2025. Image copyright GraffitiStreet
The connection to 2024 is impossible to ignore. That inflatable dinghy, hoisted by festivalgoers, turned a field of music fans into unwitting participants in a piece of live, political theatre. It was raw, urgent, and fleeting. The print, by contrast, is a continuation of that powerful moment.
Glastonbury 2024. Image copyright GraffitiStreet
Together, these two appearances, last year’s ephemeral act and this year’s screen print, extend the dinghy’s powerful statement. They ask us to raise our hands again. Not just in celebration, but in support and compassion.