Heavy Weaponry, 1998
Spray-paint on MDF board
50.5 x 52.5 cm (19 7/8 x 20 11/16 inches)
Provenance
Severnshed exhibition, Bristol, 1998.
Exhibited
Severnshed, Bristol, 2000
Auction History
Bonhams London: 30 June 2010
GBP 38,400 / USD 52,920
Bonhams London: 30 June 2010
GBP 38,400 / USD 52,920
In Heavy Weaponry, Banksy fuses the raw power of a war machine with the branding logic of consumer society. A hulking elephant, strapped with a missile on its back, strides across a rainbow-colored barcode: part animal, part weapon, part commodity. The barcode background, often a symbol of mass consumption and dehumanization, reduces nature and violence alike into products with price tags. The stenciled title and ISBN-like numbers play with the idea of cataloguing destruction like any other sellable item.
Created in 1998, this piece reflects Banksy’s early concerns with militarism, capitalism, and the absurdity of power, delivered with his now iconic stenciling and ironic detachment. The title Heavy Weaponry is both literal and mocking, turning a majestic creature into a grotesque hybrid of innocence and brutality, elegance and exploitation. The elephant, often a symbol of memory, wisdom, or even peace in various cultures, is here transformed into a silent accomplice in a system of violence.
This work is believed to be one of the first Heavy Weaponry Banksy ever realized.
Heavy Weaponry is one of Banksy’s iconic visuals. It depicts a singular elephant made in Banksy’s recognizable stencil style with a rocket strapped to its back, hence the double-entendre in the witty title. The entire composition consists of a minimally depicted animal simply strolling forward, heavy with irony.
