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Laugh Now, 2003

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Laugh Now, 2003
Editions: 150 signed, 600 unsigned

‘Laugh Now, but one day we’ll be in charge’

Laugh Now portrays a forlorn monkey, wearing a sandwich board suggesting that he is oppressed or enslaved. Along with the rat, the monkey is one of Banksy’s most frequently used animal characters, to satirize the nature of humankind. Laugh Now could well be a criticism of the way humans have been treating animals, our primate cousins, whether poaching or capturing them for entertainment, or medical testing. The ominous text on the board is both mocking and threatening, suggesting that the character is preparing an uprising, as if Banksy is warning of an imminent revolution. It is also the artist’s humorous take on Darwin’s theory of evolution.

Laugh Now, 2002
Stencil spray paint on painted board, in 3 parts
107.5 x 604.5 cm (42 3/8 x 237 7/8 inches)
Laugh Now was first commissioned in 2002 by the Ocean Rooms Nightclub on Morley Street in Brighton. It was originally a six-meter-long spray-painted mural, with the figure of the monkey repeated ten times in a row to form a backdrop to the Brighton bar. Laugh Now perfectly encapsulates Banksy’s modus operandi while conjuring the dark thematic elements that underlie such a comic piece. Ten monkeys, the last only present in half its form, stand side-by-side, full frontal and unashamed to display their sandwich-board messages. Though four figures bear no words at all, six communicate a very specific memo: “Laugh now, but one day we’ll be in charge.” The spare black spray paint upon the bleached white board lends the normally mischievous primates a sinister air, their expressions eliminated in a hyper-saturation of darkness. It is as if Banksy has multiplied their numbers into something resembling an army, daring observers to take pleasure in their misfortune.

Rivington Street, London, 2002

Banksy’s history as a street artist and his efforts to conceal his identity make his artistic figures his only interactive surrogates. Bearing this in mind, the monkeys upon the panel not only assume an anarchistic quality—promising full revenge upon their rise to power—but also make for a fascinating study into the future of street art. And, as his exhibition spaces shift from urban alleyways to galleries, Banksy paints a fascinating commentary on the current state of contemporary art.

 

 

Even though no mural remains with this iconic stencil, Banksy realized many originals on various media using the Laugh Now stencil. Those command high prices at auction.

Laugh Now But One Day We’ll Be In Charge, 2000

Sotheby’s Hong-Kong: 18 June 2021
Estimated: HKD 6,200,000 – 9,300,000
HKD 17,720,000 / USD 2,280,000

Banksy 班克斯 | Laugh Now But One Day We’ll Be in Charge 現在儘管笑吧,終有一天我們將為主宰者 | Contemporary Curated: Asia | JAY CHOU x SOTHEBY’S | Evening Sale | 2021 | Sotheby’s

BANKSY (b. 1974)
Laugh Now But One Day We’ll Be In Charge, 2000
Acrylic and stencil spray-paint on canvas
61×61 cm (24×24 inches)
Stamped with the BANKSY tag

Christie’s London: 11 May 2021
GBP 1,460,000 / USD 2,070,000

BANKSY (b. 1974)
Laugh Now But One Day We’ll Be In Charge
, 2002
Spray-paint and emulsion on paperboard

76×102 cm (30 x 41 1/8 inches)

 

 


DESCRIPTION


Laugh Now

Year: 2003
Medium: Screen-print in colors on wove paper
Size: 70×50 cm (27 1/2 x 19 3/4 inches)
Publisher: Pictures on Walls

Editions

Signed Edition: 150
Unsigned Edition: 600 

Artist’s Proofs: 69 signed AP

 


AUCTION RESULTS


FOR A DETAILED ANALYSIS OF AUCTION RESULTS
PLEASE CHECK BANKSY VALUE: EARLY PRINTS
YOU WILL ONLY FIND THE MOST RECENT AUCTION RESULTS BELOW

Laugh Now (unsigned) sold three times at auction in 2024, at an average price of GBP 21,353 (USD 27,242). It sold for its highest price of 2024, at Rosebery’s on 23 April 2024 for GBP 26,240 (USD 32,800).

Roseberys London: 23 April 2024
Estimated: GBP 12,000 – 15,000
GBP 26,240 / USD 32,800

BANKSY (b. 1974)
Laugh Now (unsigned), 2003
Screenprint in colors on paper
Numbered 493/600

Laugh Now (signed) sold three times at auction in 2024, at an average price of GBP 55,883 (USD 71,172). It sold at its highest price of GBP 60,000 in 2024 at Sotheby’s online, on 26 September 2024.

Sotheby’s online: 26 September 2024
Estimated: GBP 50,000 – 70,000
GBP 60,000 / USD 79,860

BANKSY (b. 1974)
Laugh Now (signed), 2003
Screenprint in colors on wove paper
Signed in black ink, dated and numbered in pencil 31/150

 

 

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