Rat and Heart, 2014

sebastien laboureau

April 6, 2021

“They exist without permission. They are hated, hunted and persecuted. They live in quiet desperation among the filth. And yet they are capable of bringing entire civilizations to their knees. If you are dirty, insignificant and unloved then rats are the ultimate role model.”

Silent, subversive inhabitants of cities, cunningly weaving through our dejected, disused passages, the rat is an eponymous symbol of the urban, socio-political, and candidly humorous dimensions fundamental to Banksy’s output. Offered for the first time at auction, the rodent in Rat and Heart is among the most prolific subjects of Banksy: a being that embodies the role of the street artist but also, more broadly, the human condition.

Traditionally considered abject animals, a symptom of squalor and disease, the rat for Banksy becomes playfully carnivalesque and a paradoxical allegory for humanity: a compelling antihero. Influenced by the French street artist Blek the Rat, who began stenciling rodents along the Seine during the 1980s, Banksy’s vermin are also bestowed with anthropomorphic attributes. Usually involved in comically subversive activities, Banksy’s rats crack safes, brandish slingshots or bear mordant slogans like ‘If graffiti changed anything – it would be illegal’. The role of Banksy’s rat is ambivalent, representing the vices yet also the excluded and the unloved in humanity. As Banksy summarizes, ‘You can win the rat race but you’re still a rat’.

Itself an anagram for ‘art’, the rat’s anonymity and capacity to transcend societal confines also personify the street artist. From Banksy’s early practice, the rat is depicted with markers, paint brushes and spray cans. Through witty layering and trompe–l’œil, in Rat and Heart the rat again assumes a creative, mischievous persona. Rendered in Banksy’s distinctive monochromatic technique, the frayed outlines of the heart and pile of gnawed board suggest the rodent has used its teeth to create an image. Like the street artist’s guerilla art-approach, the rat is a provocateur, shunned by authority and elusive, moving at pace to evade capture.

Irreverent, bold, and responsive to the ever-evolving socio-political landscape, the infamous British street artist Banksy gained notoriety during the 1990s through his satirical public murals. Emerging from Bristol a decade earlier, the countercultural impulse and political turbulence of the period was fundamental to forging Banksy’s artistic identity. An underground scene emboldened by a youthful post-punk energy, in the historical port town graffiti culture gained popularity in the 1980s. Among a generation that was fundamentally anti-establishment, Banksy witnessed, alongside the Hartcliffe and Poll Tax Riots, draconian police measures like Operation Anderson in Bristol. At the time the largest anti-graffiti crackdown, on the 20^th March 1989, police conducted seventy-two raids on suspected graffiti artists’ homes. It was because of similar encounters with the police that at eighteen Banksy conceived his signature stencil method.

Hieronymus Bosch, The Garden of Earthly Delights, central panel (detail), 1490-1500, Museo del Prado, Madrid

Hidden in alleyways and moving in anonymity through the most undesired routes of the urban environment, the rat is a potent symbol for the neglected and unseen and are amongst the most prolific motifs in Banksy’s oeuvre. Hunted down by authorities, considered nuisances by society, and looked down upon by the establishment, Banksy and street art seem to form a sense of comradery with the rats. Banksy’s rats carry paint brushes and spray paint cans, accompanied by phrases such as “Our time will come” or “Get out while you can.” Other times, they are simply jamming with a stereo or snapping a photo. Voicing his messages through these small, playful and rebellious creatures, the artist humorously invites us to join their underground revolution. In the present work, the rat has gnawed out a heart through the cardboard. A small but affectionate gesture, the rat conveys a message of love. Coming from the most unloved creatures of the city, the work is a particularly touching statement, offering consolation from the brutal realities of modern life. At the heart of Banky’s practice is hope for a better future, executed through moments of comical, ridiculous and at times heart-warming illustrations.

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