Bomb Middle England Banksy

Banksy, Bomb Middle England, signed screenprint, edition of 50, 2003

Pictures on Walls released this signed screenprint by Banksy in 2003, as an edition of 50 on wove paper, two years before 450 were released in an unsigned print run. Additionally, 31 signed and numbered artist proofs were also made available. In 2007, Bombing Middle England, the original piece of acrylic and spray paint on canvas, fetched £102,000 at Sotheby's. Finding a signed edition of this artwork is extraordinarily difficult, though not impossible!  Bomb Middle England depicts three middle-aged ladies playing a game of boules, the lawn is bright green and is the only colour featured in this screenprint.  With the ladies on the far left and their boules, which are in fact, lit fuse bombs on the far right. The meaning of Bomb Middle England, as with all Banksy pieces, is up for debate; perhaps it is a critique of the predictable structure that seems to define English middle-class culture. Perhaps it might also be a comment on the UK elite, or wealthier members of society, who are shielded from the harsh realities of war, destruction or poverty.