An anonymous artist has put politicians in working-class shoes with a public artwork that has Boris Johnson mopping toilets and Liz Truss pulling pints.
Faceless provocateur ‘Wankers of the World’ put the AI-generated images up on hoardings outside Waterloo Station – and today (Monday, June 5) is reportedly the last day to see it.
It’s been a huge hit with commuters passing the mural on their way to work, prompting many to ask: “How close are politicians to the real world?”
‘Wankers of the World’, whose other creations have included Nigel Farage-branded Brexit cigarettes and a Dominic Raab-themed sex toy said: “Over the last few years of the Tories running the country, there’s been a narrative of ‘if you work hard and you pull your boot straps up you’ll move to the top of society’.
“But everyone works hard in their job but it’s only the people at the very top who are getting any real benefits from it.”
He described the politicians featured as “incredibly privileged”, adding: “If those people didn’t have that luck, they could just be doing ‘normal’ jobs like we all do and it’s also trying to show that ‘normal’ jobs are really difficult and mean working just as hard.”
The ten images at the corner of Cornwall Road have been created using an AI image generation platform.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, who shares an estimated £730 million fortune with his wife Akshata Murthy, is depicted pedalling for his pennies as a food delivery rider.
Salesman Adam Braggs, 53, who was passing by the mural, said: “I love it. It shows how they have no connection to real people at all. That’s the problem – they have no idea about what to do.”
Arguably most eye-catching is one of Home Secretary Suella Braverman as a refugee clutching a child – a nod to her controversial immigration policies – including the UK-Rwanda Asylum Agreement.
Stand-up comedian Pete Kinsella, 41, said: “They’re trying to put these scumbags in the position of the victims – the people that are paying the price for their greed and incompetence. It’s never gonna change the real world but it makes its point.”
Asked for examples of their “greed and incompetence”, he cited the Covid-19 PPE scandal, and Sunak’s wife’s tax affairs.
James, who declined to give his surname, said: “I think it’s probably asking how close are politicians to the real world… not very close at all.”
“I’m not gonna lie, I kinda like it,” said Chloe Hutchinson, 28, a Transport for London employee. “They’re not living in our world anyway. Not at all – they’re doing what they have to do for their job but they don’t particularly care… I don’t think.”
‘Wankers of the World’, which has been featured at Glastonbury Festival, plans to install the artwork in Glasgow.
