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Bomb Love / Bomb Hugger, 2002

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Bomb Love, also known as Bomb Hugger, stands as one of Banksy’s most poignant and enduring anti-war images. First appearing as a black-and-white stencil on the streets of East London in 2001, the artwork features a young girl embracing a large aerial bomb as if it were a cherished teddy bear. This juxtaposition of innocence and destruction encapsulates Banksy’s signature style: blending stark social commentary with disarming simplicity

Bomb Hugger, Bristol, 1998
In Bomb Love, the girl is depicted with her hair in a ponytail, eyes closed, and a serene smile on her face as she hugs the bomb tightly. The bomb, rendered in stark black, contrasts sharply with the girl’s lighter tones, emphasizing the unsettling nature of the embrace. Banksy employed his characteristic stencil technique, allowing for rapid replication and a bold, graphic aesthetic. The image has been reproduced in various formats, including screen prints with vibrant bubblegum pink backgrounds, further enhancing the contrast between the subject’s innocence and the weapon’s menace.
Wall and Piece
Bomb Love serves as a powerful critique of society’s desensitization to violence and the normalization of warfare. The image suggests a world where the lines between affection and aggression are blurred, prompting viewers to question the narratives that make such juxtapositions conceivable. The girl’s tender embrace of the bomb may also symbolize the way propaganda can dress instruments of war in the guise of benevolence, making them more palatable to the public.


Since its inception, Bomb Love has become one of Banksy’s most iconic works, featured in exhibitions and protests alike. In 2003, during demonstrations against the Iraq War, the image was used on placards, underscoring its resonance as a symbol of anti-war sentiment. The artwork has also been included in Banksy’s publications, such as Wall and Piece, further cementing its place in contemporary art discourse. Over the years, original prints and canvases of Bomb Love have fetched significant sums at auctions, reflecting both its artistic value and cultural significance.

Through Bomb Love, Banksy masterfully conveys the absurdities of modern warfare and the contradictions inherent in society’s relationship with violence. The artwork’s enduring relevance lies in its ability to provoke thought and challenge viewers to reflect on the world around them.

 

Auction Results

Bomb Love, 2002

Bonhams London: 15 October 2021
Estimated: GBP 450,000 – 650,000
GBP 562,750 / USD 773,865

Bonhams : Banksy (B. 1975) Bomb Love 2002

BANKSY
Bomb Love, 2002
Spray paint on canvas
25.4 x 20.3 cm (10×8 inches)
Tagged on the turnover edge

Provenance
Santa’s Ghetto, London
Simon Finch, London
Acquired directly from the above by the present owner in 2004

Bomb Love, also known as Bomb Hugger, is pure Banksy: provocative, bitingly satirical and yet tender. Always a vicious opponent of mass media and casual consumerism the sense that today’s youth are being sold aggression instead of innocence, war instead of play explodes from the canvas in a flash of bubble-gum pink.

Bomb Hugger, 2002

Christie’s London: 26 June 2013
Estimated: GBP 35,000 – 45,000
GBP 40,000 / USD 61,315 

Banksy (B. 1975) , Bomb Hugger | Christie’s


BANKSY (B. 1975)
Bomb Hugger, 2002
Acrylic and spray enamel on canvas
30.5 x 30.5 cm (12×12 inches)
Provenance
Private Collection
Anon. sale, Sotheby’s Olympia, 7 February 2007, lot 528
Acquired from the above by the present owner

Bomb Hugger, 2002

Bonhams London: 29 March 2012
Estimated: GBP 40,000 – 60,000
GBP 49,250 / USD 64,578 

 BANKSY
Bomb Hugger, 2002
Stencil spray-paint on canvas
43×43 cm (16 15/16 x 16 15/16 inches)
Edition of 5
Stencil-signed “BANKSY” on the overlap

Further signed, dated, numbered /5, and inscribed “LA” on the reverse

 

Provenance
Existencilism, 33 1/3 Gallery, Los Angeles
Acquired directly from the above by the present owner in 2002

Bomb Hugger, 2002

Sotheby’s London: 16 October 2010
Estimated: GBP 25,000 – 35,000
GBP 43,250 / USD 69,305

(#113) Banksy

BANKSY
Bomb Hugger, 2002
Acrylic and spray-paint stencil on canvas
60×50 cm (23 5/8 x 19 3/4 inches)
From a series, unique in this format
Tagged on the right-side edge
Provenance
Acquired directly from the artist by the present owner

Bomb Hugger, 2003

Sotheby’s London: 11 February 2010
Estimated: GBP 25,000 – 35,000
GBP 58,850 / USD 92,000

BANKSY
Bomb Hugger, 2003
Spray paint and stencil on wood
120×99 cm (47 1/4 x 39 inches)

Provenance
Mondo Pop, Newton
Private Collection, San Francisco
Donated from the above to the present owners in 2006

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