Banksy Walled Off Hotel Boxed Set, 2017

9 x 9 in
22.9 x 22.9 cm

Banksy
Walled Off Hotel Box Set, 2017
Mixed media with sand, miniature figurines, and archival print in custom frame
Dimensions variable

Banksy’s Walled Off Hotel Box Set (2017) is a hauntingly poetic work that fuses political commentary with the intimacy of a souvenir. Released in conjunction with his Walled Off Hotel project in Bethlehem — a fully functional art installation and hotel situated beside the West Bank barrier — this boxed artwork transforms a symbol of division into an object of reflection and irony.

The piece features Banksy’s stencilled imagery of children playing on swing rides tethered to a watchtower — a structure that, in reality, is associated with surveillance and control. Rendered in Banksy’s trademark monochrome style, the tower becomes an unlikely carousel, as the innocence of play contrasts with the architecture of oppression. The inclusion of sand and miniature beach toys within the frame underscores the surreal tension between joy and conflict — turning a war-torn landscape into a child’s sandbox.

Each box set, hand-assembled and sold through the Walled Off Hotel gift shop, was designed to challenge notions of art tourism, consumerism, and empathy. Visitors could literally “take home a piece of the wall,” prompting uncomfortable questions about privilege, proximity, and participation in global inequality.

Through this work, Banksy redefines what an artwork can be: not just a collectible or statement piece, but a portable monument to one of the most contentious borders in modern history. Walled Off Hotel Box Set stands as both an art object and an act of witness — a quiet yet powerful reminder of the human cost behind walls, and the imagination that persists despite them.