The work was originally known as ‘Sonic Rat’ and was first released by Banksy’s print publisher Pictures on Walls (POW) at the artist’s Santa’s Ghetto pop-up shop for GBP 300. Radar Rat has also made it to the cover of various vinyl for Dirty Funker.

Sotheby’s New-York: 13 May 2021
Estimated: USD 100,000 – 150,000
USD 352,800

BANKSY (b. 1974)
Radar Rat, 2002
Spraypaint on cardboard
50.2 x 53.3 cm (19 3/4 x 14 3/4 inches)
Executed in 2002, this work is unique

Radar Rat is one of the mysterious street artist’s most prolific subjects. There is of course irony and satire embedded in Banksy’s depictions of the rat: the animal is emblematic of the urban landscape, and often met with digust and fear. Here, however, Banksy shows the small creature from the streets as intelligent and discerning. First appearing in 2002, Banksy has since produced many variations of Radar Rat, from urban graffiti to paintings on canvas to bronze sculptures. The rat appears often in Banksy’s work, sometimes holding signs that read messages such as “Get Out While You Can” and “Welcome to Hell”; other times, painting a dripping red heart. The present lot is a unique iteration of Radar Rat, a singular format of the animal that iconically appears throughout his work. Radar Rat holds a tape recorder in one hand and a sonic radar in the other; he’s wearing headphones and looks past the viewer, over their left shoulder, intently. A master of surprising juxtapositions, Banksy’s satirical oeuvre has fueled his reception as a cultural phenomenon, with reach extending far beyond the art world alone. Radar Rat is an iconic image that utterly encapsulates Banksy’s mission, rife with parody and critique.