BANKSY (b.1974)
Single Lane Ahead, 2011
Spray enamel on street sign
119×119 cm (47×47 inches)
Metal pole: 238 cm high (91 inches)
Signed and dated on reverse: BANKSY / 2011
Exhibited
Art in the Streets, MOCA 2011, Los Angeles, California.
Guy Hepner Gallery, New York
Auction History
Heritage Auctions: 30 March 2023
Estimated: USD 300,000 – 500,000
USD 362,500
Single Lane Ahead is a testament to Banksy’s eponymous style and desire to create urban utopias, where artistic beauty is entrenched into drab urban landscapes. The hourglass, reminiscent of vintage computer ideograms, evokes vanitas themes, urging viewers to make the most of their precious time. It calls attention to the ephemerality of life and love and the historical context in which the work was created. The year 2011 was a significant inflection point palpably punctuated by escalating tech adoption and increasingly invasive digital media companies reshaping how people interacted with each other and experienced life as a whole: through avatars, online profiles, and computer screens. Amidst this environment, the work serves as a poignant reminder of how technology has permeated our everyday existence and emphasizes the significance of treasuring life and the individuals around us in an ever-accelerating, digitally driven world.
The road sign, a “found object,” serves as the backdrop for this work and adds to the allegory by symbolizing life’s journey as a single-lane roadway: whereby the path ahead is rigid, uncertain, and without a clear opportunity for deviation or disembarkation. Adding the heart cascading within the hourglass’ upper chamber imbues the image with a sense of urgency, emphasizing the need for caution and mindfulness on our journey. Banksy’s brilliant synthesis of the sign’s cautionary message and the hourglass metaphor compels us to slow down, unplug, and appreciate the splendor of real life and the people and moments that matter most. The Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles featured this significant piece at the groundbreaking “Art in the Streets” exhibition in 2011. Curated by Director Jeffrey Deitch and Associate Curators Roger Gastman and Aaron Rose, the exhibition showcased a range of influential artworks and was the first major U.S museum survey of graffiti and street art.
