BANKSY
Filth, 2000
Spray-paint and acrylic on canvas
44.4 x 40.5 cm (17 1/2 x 15 7/8 inches)
Stenciled signed “BANKSY”, lower right
Provenance
Andipa Gallery, London
Exhibited
Severnshed, Bristol, 2000
Auction History
Phillips London: 11 February 2014
Estimated: GBP 40,000 – 60,000
Price realized: GBP 50,000
Banksy – Contemporary Art Day Sale Lot 221 February 2014 | Phillips
With Filth, Banksy delivers a stinging satire of law enforcement, branding the riot cop not just as a protector of order, but as a contradictory icon of consumer culture and spiritual confusion. Decked out in full riot gear, the officer wears a pair of Mickey Mouse ears and sports angel wings, an unsettling blend of childhood innocence, state power, and divine pretense. The figure is simultaneously comical, intimidating, and almost sacred, rendered in soft pastels against a raw, brushy background of acid yellow and deep blue.
The title Filth, British slang for police, adds a layer of bitter irony. This is not a beat cop; this is a cartoon seraph with a baton. Are we witnessing the sanctification of state violence, or the desecration of all that is pure? As with so many of Banksy’s finest works, Filth dares us to laugh while feeling distinctly uncomfortable.
