Share on twitter
Share on facebook
Share on pinterest
Share on email

Avon and Somerset Constabulary (Red and White), 2000

BY

BANKSY
Avon and Somerset Constabulary (Red and White), 2000
Stencil spray-paint and emulsion on canvas
85×69 cm (33 1/2 x 27 1/8 inches)
Stencil-signed “BANKSY” incorporated into the design

Exhibited
Severnshed, Bristol, 2000

Catalogue Note

This larger red-and-white version of Avon and Somerset Constabulary demonstrates Banksy’s remarkable ability to communicate with the fewest possible visual elements. Set against a bold, graphic background reminiscent of warning signs, flags, or emergency signals, two police officers stand absorbed in surveillance: one speaks on a mobile phone while the other films through a camcorder. The striking simplicity of the composition heightens its message, suggesting that observation itself has become an instrument of authority.

Exhibited at Banksy’s seminal Severnshed exhibition in Bristol in 2000, the work takes its title from the police force of the artist’s hometown. Here, Banksy transforms ordinary officers into symbols of an emerging surveillance culture, replacing physical force with the quiet omnipresence of cameras and communication technology.

The dramatic red-and-white color scheme lends the composition an immediacy absent from the earlier monochrome version, recalling the visual language of propaganda posters, public warnings, and institutional signage. As one of Banksy’s earliest explorations of policing and state control, Avon and Somerset Constabulary anticipates a body of work that would later include Flying Copper, Rude Copper, Stop and Search, and SWAT Van, establishing one of the artist’s most enduring and recognizable themes.

 

 

 

 

 

Gallery

More like this

wpChatIcon
wpChatIcon