BRISTOL, England — On the first of the intercontinental painting tours that would eventually turn Banksy into a global graffiti star, the young artist had plenty of help.

His first intervention in international politics came in the semi-autonomous region of Chiapas in southern Mexico in January 2001.

Banksy didn’t choose the location himself—he was tagging along with around 20 other Brits who had organized transport into the mountains where the Zapatista Army of National Liberation held sway.