Meaning & Analysis

Banksy's early artwork, Toxic Mary, is a signed screen print from a special artist proof edition of 44, with a pink background, from 2003. It challenges the traditional Madonna and Child iconography with a macabre depiction in monochromes. The skull and crossbones on the bottle Mary feeds her child represents Banksy's view that religion is a toxic form of control.

read more about Toxic Mary

Toxic Mary was first shown to the public in Banksy's 2003 London exhibition, Turf Wars. It shows the Virgin Mary feeding her infant son, Jesus Christ against a hot pink backdrop. It is a striking, bold and controversial piece considered blasphemous by many in religious circles. Art fans and Banksy collectors simply took the dark humoured piece at face value, speculating that what Banksy is actually commenting on is the relationship between mother and child. However, there is no doubt that we one can also read some of Banksy's own religious views into this rather shocking piece. He could be saying that extreme religiousness and bigotry can, in fact, be poisonous, and that poison can be passed down through generations, and spread through families and communities. The only other obvious religious piece by Banksy is Christ With Shopping Bags, which uses religious iconography to comment on the way we worship capitalism and consumerism.