Banksy, Turf War, unsigned screenprint edition of 600, 2003
Turf War was released by Banksy in 2003, as an unsigned edition of 750, with 150 signed prints and 600 unsigned prints on wove paper. The artwork is titled after Banksy's solo exhibition of the same name. The artwork features former British Prime Minister, Winston Churchill. His familiar face looks out from the canvas, a determined smile across his face. Yet, bizzarely, he sports a bright green mohawk. No longer bald, Churchill has been brought into the punk era by Banksy with a striking new hair style! The bright green hair is the only colour in the print, with the rest in typical black and white. As with many Banksy artworks this image has been co-opted and appears across tote bags, posters, coasters and t-shirts across the web. The title Turf War, seems to suggest that war is little more than just that, a squabble over territory. This piece is especially desirable because it originated from one of Banksy's earliest solo exhibitions, Turf Wars, which took place in Dalston (London) in 2003.
