In the deepest secrecy, the famous artist contacted Pia Klemp, a German captain who previously worked for Sea-Watch.
“I’m an artist from the UK and did some art about the refugee crisis. Obviously I can’t keep the money I made with it. Can you use it for a boat or something? Let me know. Good. done, Banksy, “it said The Guardian in the message he sent her.
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With bright pink paint and an artwork by Banksy on the side, the Louise Michel is a striking appearance. According to Klemp, the artist’s involvement is only financial. “Banksy doesn’t pretend he knows better how to sail a boat, and we don’t pretend to be artists.”
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Fourteen women and four children
According to the British newspaper, the Louise Michel left the Spanish port of the town of Burriana on August 18. Today, the ten crew members rescued 89 people, including fourteen women and four children. Before that, the ship already assisted in two other Sea-Watch rescues.
Although the Louise Michel has been in use for almost two weeks, Banksy and the crew have only now announced the collaboration. There was fear that several European countries would try to block their mission.
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Klemp thinks the artist chose her because of her political ideas. “Saving people at sea is not a humanitarian mission,” she explains to The Guardian. “It’s part of fighting fascism.”
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Banksy’s work often has a political or social connotation. He previously addressed the refugee crisis, the situation in Palestine and also of Brexit.
The ship is named after Louise Michel, a French feminist anarchist. She is seen as an important champion of social justice in the 19th century and the early 20th century.
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