Banksy’s work is populated by an unmistakable cast of characters. Rats scurry across walls armed with paintbrushes and placards; monkeys inherit positions of authority; and policemen become targets of ridicule, affection or rebellion. Alongside his famous children, soldiers and protesters, these figures have helped Banksy build a visual language that can be understood almost instantly.
This immediacy is one reason his prints and editions remain so compelling. Banksy takes familiar figures and places them in unexpected situations, creating images that are humorous at first glance but often carry more serious messages about authority, inequality and social control.
Rats: The Rebellious Outsiders
Rats are among Banksy’s most persistent subjects. Commonly regarded as unwanted, disruptive and difficult to control, they make natural stand-ins for outsiders who exist at the edges of society. They also thrive in cities, moving largely unnoticed through the same streets on which Banksy first established his reputation.
In Gangsta Rat, a rat adopts the clothing and posture of a hip-hop artist, complete with baseball cap, chain and portable stereo. The image plays with ideas of rebellion and identity while gently mocking the way counterculture can be packaged and commercialised. Love Rat presents a seemingly sweeter character, holding a paintbrush after painting a bright red heart. Look closer, however, and the heart appears to be dripping. The image can be interpreted as an expression of romance, a warning about heartbreak or simply another example of Banksy undermining sentimentality with a dark joke.
Other rats carry slogans or tools of protest. In Because I’m Worthless, the rat’s placard transforms a familiar advertising phrase into a statement about exclusion and self-worth. Throughout these works, Banksy turns society’s least welcome animal into a witty emblem of resilience.
Rats also occupy an important place in the Banksy editions market. Prints such as Love Rat and Gangsta Rat combine recognisable imagery with the raw humour associated with his early street practice. Signed examples, rare colourways and artist’s proofs are usually scarcer, although authentication, provenance and condition remain just as important as rarity.
Monkeys: Behaving Like Humans
If Banksy’s rats represent the powerless, his monkeys are often used to ridicule the powerful. By placing apes in recognisably human roles, Banksy invites viewers to reconsider the supposed sophistication of politics, culture and social hierarchy. Laugh Now depicts a monkey wearing a sandwich board carrying the warning: “Laugh now, but one day we’ll be in charge.” The bowed head and heavy board initially suggest humiliation, yet the message reverses the balance of power. The monkey is not merely the object of the joke; it may be waiting for its opportunity. The phrase has become one of Banksy’s best-known combinations of text and image. It captures his ability to deliver a political message with the economy of a successful advertisement or newspaper cartoon.
In Monkey Queen, Banksy replaces the face of Queen Elizabeth II with that of a chimpanzee. The image is intentionally provocative, using the familiarity of an official royal portrait to question inherited status, authority and national symbolism. Banksy returned to this satirical use of chimpanzees in the monumental painting Devolved Parliament, which shows the House of Commons occupied by gesturing apes. Although not conceived as a print edition, the work belongs to the same visual world: one in which the behaviour of those in power appears less civilised than they might like to believe.
Within the market, monkey images remain closely associated with Banksy’s identity as a political satirist. Laugh Now, in particular, has appeared in several formats, including signed and unsigned editions. Differences in format, colour, edition size and signature can substantially affect scarcity and value, making apparently similar impressions distinct collecting propositions.
Policemen: Authority Turned Upside Down
Police officers appear repeatedly in Banksy’s work as symbols of surveillance, control and institutional authority. Yet his treatment of them is rarely straightforward. Sometimes they are threatening; elsewhere, they are ridiculous, vulnerable or unexpectedly tender. Flying Copper presents an armed police officer with a yellow smiley face and small angel wings. The contradiction is deliberately uncomfortable. A familiar symbol of happiness is placed over the face of a militarised figure, while the wings suggest innocence entirely at odds with the weapon he carries. In Rude Copper, a uniformed officer directs an obscene gesture towards the viewer. The work turns the expected relationship between authority and public conduct on its head: the person responsible for enforcing order becomes openly confrontational.
Kissing Coppers offers another kind of reversal. Two male police officers embrace and kiss, challenging conventional ideas about masculinity, authority and public affection. Like many of Banksy’s strongest images, it communicates immediately while leaving room for several interpretations. Police also form the ordered ranks of Have a Nice Day, where riot officers advance beneath the artificial grin of a central smiley face. Its title sounds friendly, but the image suggests enforced cheerfulness and the uneasy relationship between public reassurance and institutional power.
Why Certain Characters Endure
The current Banksy market has become more selective than it was during the extraordinary expansion of 2020 and 2021. Collectors increasingly distinguish between images according to their cultural importance, rarity and condition rather than responding to the Banksy name alone. The most enduring works tend to combine a memorable character with a strong visual idea. Recent market analysis indicates that transaction levels remained active between 2023 and 2025, even as prices adjusted from their pandemic-era highs. Familiar images—including rats, monkeys, policemen and the celebrated Girl with Balloon—continue to provide the foundation of the print market. For any Banksy edition, a certificate from Pest Control, the body responsible for authenticating the artist’s work, is essential. Collectors should also consider whether an impression is signed or unsigned, its edition size, colour variation, provenance and physical condition.
Ultimately, Banksy’s characters endure because they are more than recurring motifs. Rats become revolutionaries, monkeys become politicians and policemen become punchlines. Through these unlikely figures, Banksy creates a world that feels playful and absurd—until we recognise how closely it resembles our own.
