Description
Banksy’s Balloon Girl started to appear in and around the South Bank of London in 2002. The image featured a stencil of a young girl reaching out for a balloon, a heart that was floating away in the distance. This is an image filled with pathos, as the girl is letting go of an object that symbolises her heart. She watches it drift away, perhaps irretrievably. The girl’s grief is emphasised by the fact that the heart is red and bursting with life whilst she is depicted in black and white, which underscores her despondence and resignation. The fact that this picture is often accompanied by the words “There is always hope”, also brings out the fact that this is not a wholly negative image. Indeed, it is possible that the girl made the conscious decision to give her love away and let her heart free.
