BANKSY, GANGSTA RAT (RED), SIGNED SCREEN PRINT EDITION OF 150, 2004
Gangsta Rat (Red) is largely monochrome print in Banksy’s iconic spray-stencil style, portraying a rat sitting next to a boombox. The character is wearing accessories typical of “gangster” street wear, such as a New York Mets baseball cap, an ear piercing and a long chain with a medal. There is a red tag behind the rat saying “IPOW” as the central splash of colour on the image. This is Banksy’s ironic nod to the ubiquity of Apple products and POW is a reference to the artist’s print publisher: Pictures on Walls. The rat character portrayed is reminiscent of the New York underground style that was prevalent across the UK in the 1980s and 90s, and also draws inspiration from the French graffiti artist Blek Le Rat, who originally started using rats as a symbol and is often called the Grandfather of stencil graffiti.
Banksy also reproduced Gangsta Rat as a mural in Farringdon in 2004, in Old Street in 2006 and New York City in 2013 on the occasion of the artist’s painting residency: Better Out Than In.
Much like other artworks from the Rat series, such as Love Rat and Radar Rat, Gangsta Rat is a very popular print both in its unsigned and signed editions. The original screen print features a bright coral-red tag, the unsigned edition of 350 available through MyArtBroker here.
Read more about Gangsta Rat by Banksy.
ABOUT BANKSY
Banksy is undoubtedly the world’s most sought-after and talked about street artist, his work represents his political and social commentary on the world, and has appeared on city walls throughout it – from London to New York, from Jamaica to the Gaza Strip.
Banksy is not only known for his high profile murals, he has been releasing limited edition prints for many years, produced in various formats, including signed and unsigned works, as well as artist proofs and gift prints. However, only a very select number of people know exactly what the elusive street artist creates and how many he releases. Some editions, for example, are only made available to VIPs, collectors and friends of Banksy’s who are part of the much-coveted inner circle. This has only made the demand for his limited edition silkscreen prints and artists proofs in circulation, grow in popularity year on year. Learn more about street artist Banksy.
