Originally published 2020-05-07.
In early May 2020, at the height of the first Covid-19 wave, Banksy gave a painting to Southampton General Hospital in England. Now known as Game Changer, it shows a young boy who has dropped his Batman and Spider-Man figures into a bin and is playing instead with a toy nurse in a cape. In March 2021 it was sold at Christie's in London for £16.8 million, then a record for the artist, with the money going to the NHS.
Here is what the picture shows, how it reached the hospital and where it ended up.
What the painting shows
The work is about a metre square and almost entirely black and white. A boy in dungarees kneels on the floor, holding his new favourite toy high above his head. The figure is a nurse, flying forward with one arm outstretched in the classic pose of Superman. She wears a face mask, an apron and a flowing cape.
In the wastepaper basket beside him lie the old heroes: Batman and Spider-Man, discarded. The only splash of colour in the whole picture is the small red cross on the nurse's apron, which pulls the eye straight to her.
The message is simple and easy to read at a glance. In spring 2020, the real heroes for many children and families were not comic-book characters but the nurses, doctors, porters and cleaners working in hospitals like this one.
How it arrived at the hospital
The painting appeared on 6 May 2020 and was hung, with the agreement of hospital managers, in a foyer near the emergency department, where staff passed it every day. Banksy left a handwritten note for the people who worked there: "Thanks for all you're doing. I hope this brightens the place up a bit, even if its only black and white."
The small joke about colour fits Banksy's usual style. The artist, whose identity has never been officially confirmed, often pairs a serious subject with a light, self-deprecating remark.
The BBC report above shows the work in place at the hospital shortly after it was unveiled.
The hospital's response
University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust, which runs the hospital, had lost much-loved members of staff to the virus in the weeks before the painting appeared. Its chief executive, Paula Head, told the BBC that the hospital family had been directly affected by those losses, and that Banksy choosing to recognise the work of everyone in the NHS was "a huge honour".
The trust said the painting would stay on display until the autumn, after which it would be auctioned to raise money for the NHS. In practice, the sale came a few months later than first planned.
The record-breaking auction
Game Changer went on public view in the window of Christie's gallery on Duke Street, London, before it was sold on 23 March 2021. The hammer price was £14.4 million; with the buyer's premium the total reached about £16.8 million. At the time that was the highest price ever paid for a Banksy at auction. The buyer was not named.
Proceeds went to NHS charities, starting with those connected to University Hospital Southampton. Christie's said it would also donate a significant part of its own buyer's premium. A reproduction of the painting stayed at the hospital for patients, visitors and staff to enjoy.
Why it struck such a chord
Banksy's work usually appears uninvited on walls, bridges and buildings, and often carries a sharp political edge. Game Changer was different: a gift, made with the hospital's consent, and an open thank-you rather than a critique.
It also captured a moment. In 2020 people across Britain clapped for carers on their doorsteps every Thursday evening, and children put rainbows in their windows. The painting turned that public feeling into a single image a child could understand, which helps explain both its popularity and its price.
The question it quietly raises still matters: who do we treat as heroes, and do we value them in ordinary times as much as in a crisis?
Other Banksy works linked to the pandemic
Game Changer was one of several pieces Banksy made during the pandemic. In April 2020 the artist shared images of rats causing chaos in a home bathroom, captioned as working from home. Later that year a rat with a face mask appeared on a London Underground train, and in summer 2020 Banksy helped fund a migrant rescue boat in the Mediterranean. Each reflected the same habit: reacting quickly to the news with humour and a clear point.
For more of the artist's work, see our earlier piece on illustrations by the artist nicknamed the French Banksy and the related reading below.
Quick answers about Game Changer
Is the painting still at Southampton General Hospital?
The original is not. It left the hospital before the March 2021 auction and now belongs to a private buyer. A reproduction hangs in its place, so visitors can still see the image where it first appeared.
Was it painted directly on the wall?
No. Unlike much of Banksy's street art, Game Changer is a framed, square painting that was hung in the hospital, which is why it could be removed and sold without damaging the building.
Who received the money?
The proceeds were given to NHS charities, beginning with those supporting staff and patients in Southampton.
Sources: Wikipedia: Game Changer (Banksy); Artlyst: Banksy Game Changer raises £16.8m for NHS charities (23 March 2021). Artwork: Banksy. Video: BBC News. Paula Head's comments were first reported by BBC News in May 2020.
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