Toxic Mary Banksy

Banksy, Toxic Mary, unsigned screenprint editon of 600, 2003

Virgin Mary often just shortened to Toxic Mary, is an early artwork by street artist Banksy that was produced as an unsigned screenprint edition of 600. Toxic Mary was first shown to the public in Banksy's 2003 London exhibition, Turf Wars. It  shows the Virgin Mary feeding her infant son, Jesus Christ. It is a striking, bold and controversial piece considered blasphemous by many in religious circles. Though art fans and Banksy collectors simply took the dark humoured piece at face value, speculating that what Banksy is actually passing comment on the relationship between mother and child. However, there is no doubt that we can infer some of Banksy's views in religion from this mother and baby piece. Perhaps that religion can, in fact, be poisonous, and that poison can be passed down through generations, and spread through families and communities. The only other obvious religious piece Banksy is Christ with Shopping Bags, which uses religious iconography to comment on the way we worship capitalism and consumerism.