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Banksy’s Love Rat first appeared as a mural in Liverpool in 2004, before being reproduced as a limited edition print that same year. The rat itself is executed in the artist's signature monochromatic stencil style, shown brandishing a large paint brush in his paws, seemingly having just finished painting the outline of a bright red heart on a wall.
At first glance, it would seem that this Banksy print was intended to spread love on the streets where it was painted. However, the blood-red paint dripping, a popular Street Art technique, implies that the heart is in fact bleeding. Banksy even promoted this work on his website, pitching it jokingly as “ideal for a cheating spouse”. In fact then, Love Rat serves to remind us of love's potential to induce pain and suffering as well as joy and pleasure.
Rats are one of Banksy's greatest sources of inspiration and one of the most prolific subjects in his work. An anagram of “art”, the rat, along with the monkey, is an allegorical tool used by Banksy in his criticism of the human race. His animals are frequently anthropomorphised, having been granted human characteristics and positioned in unusual or comical situations revealing human vices and flaws.
To read more about Banksy's Rats, see our guide here.