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To Hell (Placard Rat)
Find out more about Banksy's Welcome To Hell (Placard Rat) series, browse prints & editions for sale & view the works wanted by active buyers right now.
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Critical Review
Part of the 2004 Placard Rat print series, Welcome to Hell shows Banksy’s now-iconic stencilled rat, clutching a protest placard. Said rat, painted in Banksy’s iconic black and white stencilled style, stands up on its hind legs holding a placard with the words ‘Welcome To Hell’ handwritten in bright red splattered paint, unavoidably reminiscent of blood.
The violence of the message is contrasted by the peace sign around the rat’s neck in a complex double entendre that is characteristic of Banksy’s prints. The artist’s position on law enforcement, militarism, capitalism and consumerism is well known, and this work seems to encapsulate those beliefs with a clear warning against modern life in the over-surveilled city.
The other two works from the series, titled Get Out While You Can and Because I’m Worthless, and were released in similar edition sizes. The whole series contains only 75 signed prints and 175 unsigned prints, each with red or pink colour ways. The placard rat is among Banksy’s most recognisable characters, appearing several times in murals on the streets of London.
Rats feature heavily in Banksy’s iconography, thanks in part to the influence of prolific French street artist Blek le Rat who began spray painting the animals on the streets of Paris in the '80s, sparking a whole urban art movement in France. To learn more about Banksy's rats, see our guide here.
10 Facts About Banksy's Rats
