Margot Lee | A&E Editor
May 26, 2026
As the well known Baskin-Robbins sign in downtown San Clemente stood abandoned and unadorned after the ice cream store’s closure in 2022, street artist Bandit made his mark on the sign for the second time, deciding to provide an important message for the high-traffic area. This recent aquatic addition to the sign appeared around May 13th, followed by an instagram post by Bandit himself, captioned “For the kids…” While the piece seems playful, it fits perfectly in his gallery of thought-provoking works, many of which color the streets of San Clemente, others reaching a wider scope that touches cultures and conflicts around the world.
Meet San Clemente’s own Bansky: a local who grew up surfing and skating around SC, returning back regularly to the surf town, always with a new project. The anonymous artist is most known for his wide variety of stencil works, but many repeats and renditions can be found by knowing the ephemeral nature of street art. His unique stencil work can be found commonly all over Los Angeles as well as Ukraine, Palestine, Egypt, and Greece. From commissioning art for local businesses to altering billboards on busy roadways, he focuses on ideas surrounding war, trafficking, addiction, and violence. Each one of his pieces holds a deeper meaning, whether it directly communicates that idea or not.
His most recent SC piece depicts the lovable aquatic animals from Finding Nemo, with Hank the octopus protruding out the top holding a sign that says “Keep our beaches CLEAN!” Hank is flanked by Dory stuck in a fishing net and Nemo looking through a pair of binoculars. But what passerbys don’t catch on first glance is what’s written in fine print. Bandit included pieces of plastic in the painting, symbolizing the rising amount of plastic waste polluting our oceans. On one scrap of plastic is the iconic line from the Disney movie, written “FISH ARE FRIENDS NOT FOOD,” followed by “SEASURF FISH CO.” underneath. Next to this is a subtle note towards gentrification as Bandit wrote “RENT INCREASE NOTIFICATION.” The artist could likely be comparing rising housing prices pushing people out to rising plastic levels pushing marine life out. SCHS Senior Elliot Hastings said she wished she “took a closer look at the sign” when she first passed by it. Hastings added that she “interpreted it as a fun ocean mural,” not recognizing the deeper message at first.
Although he touches on social issues in San Clemente, his international portfolio is the most extensive. Closely following the humanitarian crisis in Ukraine after Russia’s full-scale invasion, Bandit painted symbols of Ukrainians learning to adapt to the hostility and violence that has remained a constant in their lives. Alongside these paintings, he filmed and showcased a documentary called Palyanytsia. The award winning film follows Bandit and other street artists as they reflect on the war-torn cities of Ukraine through artistic expression. Bandit shared his experience with San Clemente as the film had a premier showing last year in the Los Molinos district. This won’t be his last film, as he revealed there is another one in the works after his time spent in Palestine this year. This only scratches the surface of Bandit’s established career.
SCHS Senior Lucia Baradaran-Bybee added to the conversation, noting that “it’s cool that he travels to culturally relevant places like Coachella.” Baradaran-Bybee was referring to Bandit’s infamous series of graffiti interventions on Coachella billboards that featured major artists such as Sabrina Carpenter, Clairo, and Charli xcx.
At times, living in San Clemente can feel isolated from the rest of the world, war feels abstract and our actions and awareness seem obsolete. But, it’s artists like Bandit that help bridge that gap between our town and conflicts that are occurring in other countries. His artwork is meant to invoke discussion and thought. So, next time you come across a Bandit original, take a second to look behind the spray paint and stencils and you’ll find a message bigger than our town itself.
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