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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

Updated as of 1 August 2023

 

 

1. Barcode (unsigned)

 

 

 

Bonhams London: 29 March 2023
Estimated: GBP 20,000 – 30,000
GBP 22,950 / USD 28,253

Barcode (unsigned), 2004
Numbered 359/600 in pencil with the publisher’s blindstamp, lower right
Stamped with the BANKSY tag in red ink, lower left

———-

Christie’s online: 14 March 2023
Estimated: GBP 20,000 – 30,000
GBP 32,760 / USD 40,295


Barcode (unsigned), 2004
Numbered 536/600 in pencil with the publisher’s blindstamp, lower right
Stamped with the BANKSY tag in red ink, lower left

———–

Phillips London: 19 January 2023
Estimated: GBP 25,000 – 35,000
GBP 30,240 / USD 37,195


Barcode, 2004
Numbered 342/600 in pencil, lower right
An unsigned impression with the artist’s inkstamp in red

———–

Heritage Auctions: 29 November 2022
USD 28,750

Barcode, 2004
Numbered 239/600 in pencil, lower right with the artist’s inkstamp in red

———-

Sotheby’s online: 17 August 2022
Estimated: GBP 20,000 – 30,000
GBP 25,200 / USD 30,240

Barcode (unsigned), 2004
Numbered 323/600 in pencil, with the publisher’s blindstamp, lower right
Stamped with the BANKSY tag in red ink, lower left

———–

International Art Center: 27 July 2021
GBP 59,109 / USD 82,162

Barcode (unsigned), 2004
Numbered 428/600 in pencil with the publisher’s blindstamp, lower right
Stamped with the BANKSY tag in red ink
———–
Bonhams online: 29 June 2021
GBP 31,500 / USD 43,569
Barcode (unsigned), 2004
Numbered 352/600 in pencil with the publisher’s blindstamp, lower right
Stamped with the BANKSY tag in red ink
———–
Sotheby’s online: 18 March 2021

GBP 75,600 / USD 105,084

Barcode (unsigned), 2004
Numbered 314/600 in pencil with the publisher’s blindstamp, lower right
Stamped with the BANKSY tag in red ink

 

2. Barcode (signed)

 

 

 

Sotheby’s online: 20 April 2023
Estimated: GBP 50,000 – 70,000
GBP 76,200 / USD 94,857

Barcode (signed), 2004
Signed and dated in black ink, lower left with the BANKSY tag in red ink
Numbered and inscribed 30/150 DN in pencil with the publisher’s blindstamp, lower right

———-

Bonhams London: 19 April 2023
Estimated: GBP 50,000 – 70,000
GBP 53,220 / USD 66,210

Barcode (signed), 2004
Signed and dated in black ink, with the artist’s ink stamp, lower left
Numbered 19/150 in pencil, with the publisher’s blindstamp, lower right

———–

Bonhams London: 13 December 2022
GBP 53,220 / USD 65,857

Barcode (signed), 2004
Signed and dated in black ink, lower left
Numbered 30/150 in pencil with the publisher’s blindstamp, lower right

———–

Sotheby’s online: 17 August 2022
Estimated: GBP 60,000 – 80,000
GBP 75,600 / USD 90,720

Barcode (signed), 2004
Signed and dated in pencil, with the BANKSY tag in red ink, lower left
Numbered 96/150 in pencil, lower right

———–

Sotheby’s online: 26 April 2022
GBP 88,200 / USD 111,132

Barcode (signed), 2004
Signed and dated in black ink, lower left
Numbered and inscribed 22/150 DN in pencil with the publisher’s blindstamp, lower right
Stamped with the BANKSY tag in red ink, lower left
———–
Forum Auctions: 3 March 2022
GBP 104,520 / USD 142,147

Barcode (signed), 2004
Signed and dated in black pen, lower left with the Banksy Stamp in red ink
Numbered /150 in pencil 

———–
Sotheby’s online: 17 September 2021
GBP 113,400 / USD 157,626

Barcode (signed), 2004
Signed and dated, lower left
Numbered 47/150 in pencil, lower right
Stamped with the BANKSY tag in red ink, lower left
———–
Bonhams online: 29 June 2021
GBP 94,000 / USD 130,017
Barcode (signed), 2004
Signed in black ink, lower left
Numbered 68/150 in pencil with the publisher’s blindstamp, lower right
Stamped with the BANKSY tag in red ink, lower left

Gallery

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