Guantanamo Bay forms part of Banksy’s Crude Oils series. The work depicts a hooded prisoner on a picturesque Cuban beach, a jarring juxtaposition that underscores the violation of human rights. By placing an icon of captivity and abuse against a backdrop of tranquillity, Banksy delivers a stark critique of the War on Terror and its moral contradictions.

The motif has featured in some of his boldest political actions, most famously in 2006 when he placed an inflatable figure of a Guantanamo detainee inside Disneyland, California. This act of guerrilla intervention highlighted the uneasy coexistence of entertainment and global injustice.