Mosquito
Banksy’s Mosquito series from 2003 parodies the Paramount Pictures logo, depicting a mosquito wearing a gas mask at its centre. The work, which was released in a small edition of 25, ironizes Hollywood’s parasitic relationship to real-life violence and conflict, which it depicts with immunity from the real thing.
Banksy Mosquito For sale
Mosquito Value (5 Years)
Sales data across the Mosquito series by Banksy varies by print. While standout works have sold at auction for up to £220000, other editions in the series remain rare to market or have yet to appear publicly for sale. Of those tracked, average selling prices have ranged from £220000 to £220000, with an annual growth rate of 11.69% across available data. Collectors should note the discrepancy in performance between more visible and lesser-seen editions when considering value potential in this series.
Mosquito Market value
Auction Results
| Artwork | Auction Date | Auction House | Return to Seller | Hammer Price | Buyer Paid |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Mosquito Banksy Mixed Media | 6 Oct 2018 | Sotheby's Online | £68,000 | £80,000 | £110,000 |
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Meaning & Analysis
Mosquito is a canvas produced in 2003 by British street artist and activist, Banksy. It was released in an edition of 25 by Pictures on Walls - Banksy's original UK print house - and measures 25.4cm by 30.3 cm. Back in 2003, when Mosquito was first released, it sold for £250. In 2002, another version of this work, depicting the mosquito against a mosaic-like montage of Queen Elizabeth II's portrait, clad in the same gas mask, was created with with spray paint and emulsion. Mounted on perforated card, the image featured a stencilled-version of Banksy's trademark 'tag'. This particular image of the Queen was the same Banksy used for his provocative Monkey Queen artwork, executed in 2003.
Banksy's Mosquito is a simple, two-coloured image typical of the artist's stencil-based works. It displays a mosquito styled as a military plane, complete with large wings and a gas mask. Depicted as a flying combatant in action, swooping down to attack an enemy, the mosquito is somewhat ironic: the gas mask covers the insect’s bloodsucking head, preventing it from actually hurting anybody.
The blood-sucking mosquito could be interpreted as a representation of the casualties of war. Yet the generally negative connotations of the mosquito also lend the piece a critical edge - perhaps it alludes to the desperation of soldiers fighting in war, caught in a difficult position somewhere between duty and morality? The central figure of the composition - the mosquito - is placed inside a circular field of 21 red stars, which recall those surrounding the mountain peak in Banksy's Paranoid Pictures image.
