Nowadays it is undeniable that technology and social media are bigger and more widely used than ever before. It seems everyone has a social media account, if not 3 or 4, and the invention that was meant to bring people together is becoming so dominant that it is actually driving them apart. A message well depicted in the image below. The shot below is a picture of a piece of graffiti art called Mobile Lovers done by the famous anonymous graffiti artist Banksy.  It shows a man and a woman embracing each other but looking at their phones over each other’s shoulders, implying that their phones are more valuable to them than each other. Banksy always tries to send a social message with his art and the message in this piece is pretty clear. By looking at action and color, we see the control technology has over our daily lives, which is important because it serves as a warning about how we think of social media and online interaction. This is a very simple piece so the two characters and their actions are very vital to the overall message. 

Banksy shows the problems with technology through the character’s interactions with their technological devices and each other. The characters in the picture, a man and a woman, are embracing each other but not quite in the moment, looking at their phones over each other’s shoulders. The man and woman are both wearing black suits with dull white undershirts, which adds to the neutrality of their embrace. Even though the couple should be clutching one another with a caring and longing love, both the man and the women seem disinterested and apathetic. Blankly gazing at the neon screen in front of them. The two of them have their partner in one hand and their phones in the other. Faced with a decision on where to give their attention and what is more important, and both the man and the woman choose their phones.  This symbolizes the priorities of much of the world, that the virtual world is more significant than real life human contact, even human contact that is sitting right in front of you.  

Even though you can’t really tell what they are doing on their phones, it doesn’t matter. The artist is trying to make the point that no matter what is on their screens it is not as important as what is going on right in front of them. Nothing that happens on a phone or online is as important as what is happening in real life with real human interaction. Much of the world is too busy seeking attention online when they could be getting the attention they need through physical interaction. Many people are too worried about their likes and retweets and forget what is really valuable and that is what the artist is trying to teach in this piece.  Banksy does not just teach this lesson with the characters and their actions, he also symbolizes a lot of the issues through color. 

Banksy uses many tools to get across his message in this piece but color is one of the most powerful. The colors of the image show a lot about the emotion and feelings in the image. The overall dark and mostly colorless image shows a lot about how the couple in the image feel about each other.  The black and white colors represent the bland and emotionless embrace these two are sharing, and overall what technology is turning their entire relationship into. Symbolizing what happens to face to face interactions when you care too much about technology.  Their grey faces staring emotionlessly at their phones, practically looking straight through each other. There are also glimpses of blue throughout this piece but specifically on the phones and on the faces of the couple. The blue represents the sorrow and sadness of this couple which appears to be spreading from the phones to the faces of the couple. This connection implies that the sadness is originating from the phones, and causing the sadness that is apparent on the faces of the couple.  The brighter white on the front of the couple’s faces also shows the ominous glow of the phones lighting up their faces.  A glow that could easily be replaced by the glow of happiness or love if the couple would enjoy their time together instead of escaping into a virtual world. Banksy has a clear message he is trying to get across in this piece and he uses color very well to enhance his point. 

Banksy’s art is always filled with lessons and his piece Mobile Lovers is no exception. By looking at action and color, we see the control technology has over our daily lives. Banksy’s imagery serves as a warning about how social media is taking the place of face to face personal interactions and how our humanity is being compromised. Past social engagements like shopping trips and meeting for coffee have evolved into fluttering fingers and eyes staring at glowing screens. True conversations that build true relationships are being replaced by superficial texts and Facebook posts. Banksy uses art to point out that preoccupation with phones dignifies lost opportunities for meaningful connections with people. We could all learn something from this piece because in one way or another we all look over the shoulder of beautiful things to escape into a virtual reality.
