
“I don’t know why people are so keen to put the details of their private life in the public: they forget that invisibility is a superpower”
Working simply with paint and a stencil, Sid Vicious sees Banksy preserve his signature street art process, reenacting it on canvas in a style similar to Pop Art pioneer, Andy Warhol. Warhol’s famous screen-prints often illustrated the faces of well-known celebrities and political figures of grandeur. These paintings are aesthetically comparable with Banksy’s Sid Vicious, whereby the faces of icons, such as Marilyn Monroe, are reproduced in a formation of adjacent squares, amongst vibrant milieus and overlaid with detailing. In contrast to the idolization of these emblematic figures of contemporary culture, Banksy uses this visual to venerate Vicious and his punk ideologies.
As the face of the Sex Pistols, Sid Vicious symbolised a movement of insolence against the dominance of popular music. This radial shredding of convention is central to all three of the aforementioned protagonist’s work. Sid Vicious is a testament to Banksy’s driving motivation – to challenge convention.


Auction Results
Sid Vicious, 2000
Artcurial Paris: 5 May 2019
Estimated: EUR 150,000 – 250,000
EUR 149,050 / USD 166,265
BANKSY
Sid Vicious, 2000
Spray-paint, stencil, and acrylic on canvas
92×92 cm (36 1/4 x 36 1/4 inches)
Unique variant from a series
Stencil-signed “BANKSY”, lower right
Provenance
Alterior, Urban Clothes Shop, Bristol
Private Collection
Bonhams, London, 5 February 2008, Lot 19
Acquired from the above by the present owner
Sid Vicious, circa 200
Estimated: GBP 40,000 – 60,000
GBP 80,500 / USD 122,970

Sid Vicious, circa 200
Acrylic, spraypaint stencil and glitter on canvas
91.5 x 91.5 cm (36×36 inches)
Stenciled with the artist’s signature
Signed on the reverse and on the stretcher
This work is from a varied series of 2
Provenance
Lazarides Gallery, London
Acquired directly from the above by the present owner