3D RAT, 2010

Auction History

Catalogue Note

Created during Banksy’s January 2010 visit to Park City, Utah, 3D Rat belongs to a small and highly significant group of murals produced in conjunction with the Sundance Film Festival, where Exit Through the Gift Shop premiered. The artist used the occasion to transform the snowy ski resort into an open-air exhibition, leaving behind a series of witty interventions that contrasted the glamour of the festival with the anonymity and impermanence of street art. Most of these works have since disappeared through weather, vandalism or redevelopment, making the few surviving examples exceptionally rare.

The work depicts one of Banksy’s signature rats wearing classic red-and-blue 3D cinema glasses while making a peace sign. The motif directly references the nearby Egyptian Theatre, where audiences watched Banksy’s documentary through identical glasses, creating an amusing dialogue between the cinema screen and the street. By transplanting the cinematic experience onto one of his most recognizable characters, Banksy blurs the boundary between reality and illusion, suggesting that perspective ultimately depends on the lens through which we choose to view the world.

The rat occupies a privileged place within Banksy’s visual language. Inspired in part by the work of French stencil pioneer Blek le Rat, it became one of the artist’s earliest and most enduring symbols: an overlooked urban survivor that thrives beneath the notice of authority. Here, the addition of the 3D glasses transforms the familiar character into a playful observer of contemporary culture, while reinforcing Banksy’s fascination with media, spectacle and perception.

This example is among the finest surviving works from the Park City campaign. Unlike many of the Utah murals that have been lost, this section of concrete was professionally removed, carefully conserved and presented within a bespoke museum-quality frame with removable Plexiglas, preserving both the original surface and its urban character. As one of only three known surviving 3D Rats from the Sundance intervention, it occupies an important place within Banksy’s street oeuvre, documenting the moment when the anonymous graffiti artist stepped onto the international film stage without abandoning the streets that had made his reputation.

This piece was subject to initial cleaned, preserved and framed in a bespoke mahogany frame with removable Plexiglas.