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Barcode, 2004

BY
Barcode, 2004
Editions: 150 signed, 600 unsigned

“A black print of a leopard on an off white unbleashed paper with spot varnish finish. Every bit as good as that sounds.”

Barcode, also known as Barcode Leopard, shows a fearless leopard who seems to have just escaped from his cage, resembling a barcode on wheels. At first sight, this print could be interpreted as criticism on the way humans use animals for their own entertainment, having created zoos or sea-parks. Banksy is bringing our attention towards the illegal trade and commodification of wildlife, especially the poaching of big cats for materials and their entrapment for the amusement of the rich in private spaces or the masses in zoos.
But, as it is often the case with Banksy, there are different readings to this strong visual. Indeed, the liberation of the leopard is also pointing towards a far more subtle and conceptual imprisonment. If one considers the barcode as symbol of capitalism and consumerism, Banksy could also emphasize the excess of consumerism and how they become our own entrapment. The Leopard is a brilliant metaphor for nature, freedom and the vitality of life, while the barcode-become-cage represents the impersonal, inhuman and quantitative nature of mass consumerism and modernity in general as a force obsessed with integrating the natural and thus the human into a linear and indexed system.
Barcode first appeared on the side of a house on Pembroke Road in Bristol. The stencil was quickly removed from the wall but reappeared a few years after on the occasion of an exhibit in Somerset. Banksy also realized many originals with this iconic stencil.

Barcode Leopard, 2002
Stencil spray-paint on canvas
43×51 cm (17×20 inches)
Edition of 5

Barcode Leopard, 2002
Spray paint and emulsion on canvas
60×85 cm (23 5/8 x 33 1/2 inches)
Stenciled with the artist’s name

 


DESCRIPTION


Barcode

Year: 2004
Medium: Screen-print on cream wove paper
Size: 50×70 cm (19 3/4 x 27 1/2 inches)
Publisher: Pictures on Walls
 

Editions

Signed Edition: 150
Unsigned Edition: 600
Artist’s Proofs: Unknown

Numbering and Signature

Numbered in pencil, lower right, no publisher’s blindstamp
Some with the Banksy stamp in red ink

Signed either in pencil or in black ink

 


AUCTION RESULTS


 

FOR A DETAILED ANALYSIS OF AUCTION RESULTS
PLEASE CHECK BANKSY VALUE: 2004 PRINTS
YOU WILL ONLY FIND THE MOST RECENT AUCTION RESULTS BELOW

 

Barcode (unsigned) sold 3 times at auction in 2024 for a total turnover of GBP 48,7204 (USD 61,222), at an average price of GBP 16,068 (USD 20,407). Its highest price for 2024 of GBP 19,680 (USD 25,015) was achieved at Roseberys on 5 March 2024.

Roseberys London: 5 March 2024
Estimated: GBP 15,000 – 20,000
GBP 19,680 / USD 25,015

BANKSY (British b.1974)
Barcode (unsigned), 2004
Screenprint in colors on wove
Numbered 135/600 in pencil, with stamp signature in red

 

Barcode (signed) sold twice in 2024 at Bonhams online, on 20 March 2024 for GBP 43,520 (USD 55,193), and at Christie’s online, on 1 October 2024 for GBP 37,800 (USD 50,274).

Christie’s online: 1 October 2024
Estimated: GBP 30,000 – 50,000
GBP 37,800 / USD 50,274

BANKSY
Barcode (signed), 2004
Screenprint in black on wove paper
Signed in pencil, stamped with the BANKSY tag in red ink
Sated and numbered 78/150 in pencil with the publisher’s blindstamp

Bonhams online: 20 March 2024
Estimated: GBP 30,000 – 50,000
GBP 43,520 / USD 55,193

BANKSY (born 1974)
Barcode (signed), 2004
Screenprint
Signed and dated in black ink, numbered 122/150 in pencil
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