Applause Banksy

BANKSY, APPLAUSE, SIGNED SCREENPRINT, EDITION OF 150, 2006

The signed edition of Applause is limited to just 150 and is signed in the right-hand corner of the piece. Released in 2006, Applause appears to take aim at the way the media glamourise modern warfare; the 24-hour news means that war becomes entertainment, images live from the frontline make sport of conflicts all over the world. The piece was also produced for Banksy's 'Barely Legal' exhibition and is termed Applause (LA Set) this was an unsigned edition of 100, the contrast in the LA Set is considerably bolder. The colours of the high-visibility vests and the 'Applause' sign are the only splash of colour in the piece, the rest of which is monochromatic and was made by photocopying images multiple times to give an aged look to the piece. The 'Applause' sign, as you'd expect to see at the recording of a game show, instructs the audience to clap as though it were all a game.