Heavy Weaponry, 2000
Edition: 10
Spray-paint and emulsion on canvas
61×61 cm (24×24 inches)
Original Metropolitan Police Evidence label with Banksy barcode stamp
Numbered /10 attached to the stretcher
Heavy Weaponry depicts a singular elephant made in Banksy’s recognizable stencil style with a rocket strapped to its back. The image of the elephant bearing a rocket on its back carries various interpretations; presumably the general message is anti-military, in line with Banksy’s other works using similar imagery.
This version of Heavy Weaponry is filled with a variety of symbols and motifs that have recurred throughout the Bristol-born artist’s practice: an oversize barcode, and his signature elephant backpacking a missile. As was the case with the first edition of Heavy Weaponry, the piece is charged with a not so thinly veiled “anti-war” sentiment, openly questioning and criticizing the commoditization of military engagement.
Auction Results
Heavy Weaponry only sold 3 times at public auction.
It last sold at Bonhams London on 8 October 2020, where it broke its auction record selling for GBP 471,062. This rare edition on canvas had not appeared at auction since 2009.
Bonhams London: 8 October 2020
Estimated: GBP 250,000 – 350,000
GBP 471,062 / USD 614,515
BANKSY
Heavy Weaponry, 2000
Spray-paint and emulsion on canvas
61×61 cm (24×24 inches)
Signed in stencil, original Metropolitan Police Evidence label
With Banksy barcode stamp and numbered 8/10 attached to the stretcher
