Director's Choice

Our Director on his Banksy must-haves
November 8, 2021
Director's Choice

For over 15 years Andipa have been at the forefront of the Banksy secondary market. Whether for original Banksy artworks or Banksy signed prints, our Knightsbridge gallery has assisted and advised collectors across the world to acquire beautiful artworks by the world’s most in-demand artist. 

 

Napalm

 

Napalm, for me, is Banksy at his best and was the first artwork that I had seen by the artist: love at first sight so to speak. Napalm, from a signed edition of 150 and an unsigned edition of 500 carries such weight and poignancy that typifies the artist. If I had to choose one work that captures Banksy then Napalm would be it. It has it all - humour, poignancy and cutting, barbed wit. A scintillating attack on commercialism and, specifically, American consumer culture the work uses the famous and brutal image of Vietnamese girl Phan Thi Kim Phuc  (taken by  AP photographer Nick Ut)  showing her fleeing a napalm attack. Holding her hand are two powerful symbols of consumerism - Mickey Mouse and Ronald Macdonald. Transforming these two characters, the work takes on a deeply sinister and disturbing tone as childhood and innocence are deeply subverted to create such intense juxtaposition. As a collector myself, I am always looking for works that generate emotions and Napalm is such a work that touches and repulses all at once. 

 

Laugh Now

 

Along with rats, monkeys are one of Banksy’s most commonly recurring motifs. Laugh Now, from a signed edition of 150 and unsigned edition of 600, is an early Banksy work and one of his most popular pieces. Standing upright, shoulders sloped with its head hanging down, perhaps beaten into conformity, “Laugh now but one day we’ll be in charge” greets us with the evolutionary counterpoint to our concept of being human; the monkey. Nature is placed secondary to humanity as evidence of ourselves imprinted in the work through the stencil board and writing, whilst the monkey, and by extension nature, is pushed to the background and serves as a mere item on which we place our superiority and dominance over all species. Laugh Now is both provocative and comedic and the contradictory phrase is executed with typical Banksy aplomb. The mysterious text on the board suggests that the monkey is in the cusp of a revolution and ready to take control. What I like so much about Laugh Now is that the imagery is so simple - so simply in fact that it beguiles the witty and provocative message that the work transmits. For me, Laugh Now is Banksy toying with us in his archetypal style that sees him beloved by millions across the globe. 

 

 

Christ With Shopping Bags

 

Our gallery, founded in 1967, originally specialised in religious art and icons and, perhaps ingrained within me, is the reason why I think so highly of Christ with Shopping Bags. Released at Santa’s Ghetto in a signed edition of 82, the work is a barbed statement, much like Napalm, on consumerism. The artwork shows a crucified Jesus agonisingly holding shopping bags in his outstretched hands that buckle under the weight of the gifts contained inside. Christmas is referenced in the image with a candy cane and the Mickey Mouse ears poking out of the heavy bags. In celebration of Jesus’ birth, the works can be read as to how the festive season has lost its original and true meaning as society places more importance on gift giving and shopping rather than a message of hope and salvation. Forgoing an eternal life, we see the modern world building up new gods in the consumption of brands and goods to the detriment of our spiritual growth. Jesus and the shopping bags are melting in Banksy’s recreation of the crucifixion, insinuating how consumerism ephemerally fills a satisfaction, but the satisfaction doesn’t last.



Discover our Banksy prints for sale and speak to a member of our gallery via sales@andipa.com or call +44 (0)20 7589 2371 to discuss your requirements or visit our Walton Street gallery to experience our wonderful collection of art. 

 

About the author

Alex Yellop