CND Soldiers Banksy

Banksy, CND Soldiers, unsigned screenprint edition of 350, 2005

This mostly monochromatic, unsigned screenprint by Banksy was originally a mural painted on a wall very close to the Houses of Parliament, in London England. The artwork considered an anti-war piece shows two soldiers, stencil-sprayed crouching on the ground, warily scouting the landscape around them. One is holding a machine gun, the other a paintbrush with which he is in the process of painting a red peace sign (the use of monochromatic works with splashes of primary colours is a style also employed by activist and Street Artist Shepard Fairey). The mural was created shortly after the UK's involvement in the 2003 Iraq war and comes off the back of millions of citizens, including soldiers, protested against the invasion. Prints were released in 2005, and the piece was recreated and displayed in a collection at the Tate Britain gallery in 2007.