Mosquito
Mosquito
Mixed Media
Banksy
Price data unavailable
AAGR (5 years) This estimate blends recent public auction records with our own private sale data and network demand.
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Medium: Mixed Media
Edition size: 25
Year: 2003
Size: H 25cm x W 30cm
Signed: No
Format: Mixed Media
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Auction Results
| Auction Date | Auction House | Artwork | Hammer Price | Return to Seller | Buyer Paid |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| October 2018 | Sotheby's Online - United Kingdom | Mosquito - Mixed Media | |||
| May 2014 | Sotheby's Milan - Italy | Mosquito - Mixed Media | |||
| February 2009 | Sotheby's Online - United Kingdom | Mosquito - Mixed Media | |||
| February 2007 | Sotheby's Online - United Kingdom | Mosquito - Mixed Media |
Meaning & Analysis
Mosquito is an acrylic and spray paint stencil on canvas made by Banksy in 2003. The canvas, in an edition of 25, depicts a gas mask-clad mosquito rendered in Banksy’s signature stencil-graffiti style. The work parodies the Paramount Pictures logo, ironizing Hollywood’s parasitic relationship to real-life violence and conflict.
The meaning of this image is open to interpretation, as are many of Banksy’s artworks. The work is imbued with irony as the gas mask is meant to be protecting the insect, but also prevents it from drinking blood and sustaining itself. The gas mask also prevents the mosquito from stinging anyone, rendering it impotent and disabling it from hurting anybody, despite the insect being rendered as ready to fight.
Banksy’s works are often ironic or satirical and the artist uses animals such as monkeys and rats to address social issues. Animals that are conventionally thought of as pests and associated with being unwanted, such as rats, are frequently used by Banksy as symbols of the working class. In this image, the mosquito can be seen as representing the plight of soldiers who are caught in war and have to struggle between duty and morality.
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