{"id":7061,"date":"2025-05-09T14:11:32","date_gmt":"2025-05-09T11:11:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/theworldofbanksy.de\/multimediaguide\/?post_type=portfolios&p=7061"},"modified":"2026-01-08T11:47:02","modified_gmt":"2026-01-08T08:47:02","slug":"migrant-birds","status":"publish","type":"portfolios","link":"https:\/\/theworldofbanksy.de\/multimediaguide\/en\/portfolios\/migrant-birds\/","title":{"rendered":"Anti-Immigration Birds"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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Anti-Immigration Birds<\/h1>\r\n

Clacton-on-Sea, Essex, England, 2014<\/p>\r\n <\/div>\r\n <\/div>\r\n\r\n \r\n \r\n \r\n <\/section>\r\n\r\n \t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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Emerging in Clacton-on-Sea, Essex, England, in 2014, Anti-Immigration Birds is a mural that offers a powerful critique of anti-immigration sentiment and racism.<\/span><\/p>

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The artwork depicts five gray pigeons perched on a wire, holding signs that read \u2018Migrants Not Welcome\u2019, \u2018Go Back to Africa\u2019 and \u2018Keep Off Our Worms\u2019, directed at a more colorful and exotic-looking migrant swallow. Banksy uses the balance of nature to ironically criticize racist rhetoric against immigrants.<\/span><\/p>

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The gray pigeons represent the local population, while the signs openly reflect anti-immigration attitudes. The phrase \u2018Keep Off Our Worms\u2019 highlights the absurdity of such prejudices.<\/span><\/p>

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The migrant swallow symbolizes diversity, and its solitary position underscores the exclusion of immigrants in society. Using nature as a metaphor, Banksy exposes the senselessness of anti-immigration sentiment; in nature, no bird excludes another for being a migrant, as migration is a natural process. Banksy emphasizes that anti-immigration attitudes are a human construct, contrary to nature.<\/span><\/p>

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The piece also questions the authorities\u2019 stance on immigrants. The signs reveal that racist rhetoric is not just individual but systemic, with Banksy critiquing how such attitudes are normalized and supported by authority. The swallow\u2019s colorful appearance symbolizes the cultural richness of immigrants, while the gray tones of the pigeons reflect the monotony and soullessness of racist rhetoric.<\/span><\/p>

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Anti-Immigration Birds appeared in 2014, ten days before local elections in Clacton-on-Sea. In 2014, anti-immigration sentiment and racist rhetoric were on the rise in the UK, with parties like UKIP, which was influential in the area, promoting anti-immigrant policies. Amid the Syrian civil war, millions were forced to migrate to Europe, intensifying the migrant crisis.<\/span><\/p>

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The mural garnered significant attention; however, Tendring District Council removed it following a complaint that it was \u2018racist and offensive\u2019, underscoring the accuracy of Banksy\u2019s critique. Rather than understanding the message, the authorities chose to silence it.<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"featured_media":7066,"template":"","portfolios_categories":[85],"class_list":["post-7061","portfolios","type-portfolios","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","portfolios_categories-en"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/theworldofbanksy.de\/multimediaguide\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/portfolios\/7061","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/theworldofbanksy.de\/multimediaguide\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/portfolios"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/theworldofbanksy.de\/multimediaguide\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/portfolios"}],"version-history":[{"count":24,"href":"https:\/\/theworldofbanksy.de\/multimediaguide\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/portfolios\/7061\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8694,"href":"https:\/\/theworldofbanksy.de\/multimediaguide\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/portfolios\/7061\/revisions\/8694"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theworldofbanksy.de\/multimediaguide\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7066"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/theworldofbanksy.de\/multimediaguide\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7061"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"portfolios_categories","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theworldofbanksy.de\/multimediaguide\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/portfolios_categories?post=7061"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}