Grannies Banksy

This satirical, original, limited edition print by British Street Artist Banksy depicts two elderly grannies sitting on two armchairs seemingly doing what grannies like to do: knitting and having a chat over a cup of tea. However, when looking at the detail of the piece, the jumpers they are knitting read, ‘Punk’s Not Dead’, and ‘Thug For Life’. The background is a block, muted pink – heightening the juxtaposition between scene and the message, which is possibly to remind us that the older generations may look relatively innocuous, but they might have a rebellious past. It could also be Banksy encouraging the older generation to take a stand once more, or rather, what he believes they should pass down along with their knitted jumpers, to their grandchildren, the future generation.  Contrarily, it has been suggested that the picture represents the gentrification of counter cultural movements into tame, mainstream culture suitable for grannies. The artwork was released as a screen print in 2006. As a Banksy art, this piece is well-known and is regularly in demand; its relatively low edition size contributes to its desirability – there are just 150 Grannies signed prints and 600 unsigned prints.