Tank – Embracing Couple, 2003
Spray-paint on steel
155×135 cm (61 x 53 1/8 inches)
Unique
Bonhams London: 25 October 2006
GBP 62,400 / USD 86,334
Masked like the clandestine identity of the artist himself, the figures in Embracing Couple is a variation from Banksy‘s subversive theme of helmeted characters. The painting, spay-painted onto industrial sheet metal, is the study for one of the guerrilla artist’s very rare artistic and commercial commissions, which culminated in the cover art for the English rock band Blur’s Think Tank album, released in 2003. Embracing Couple depicts lovers in a passionate hug, estranged by their diving helmets in a reference to the shrouded lovers in Magritte’s Les Amants (The Lovers).
Rene Magritte, The Lovers II, 1928
Blur, former art students themselves, sought to align themselves with Banksy because this celebrated graffiti artist, art terrorist and prankster’s often humorous images of discontent encapsulate and satirize the pervasive introversion and alienation current in contemporary British culture.
Think Tank is the seventh studio album by the English rock band Blur, released in 5 May 2003. Continuing the jam-based studio constructions of the group’s previous album, the album expanded on the use of sampled rhythm loops and brooding, heavy electronic sounds. There are also heavy influences from dance music, hip hop, dub, jazz and African music. Recording sessions started in November 2001, taking place in London, Morocco and Devon to finish a year later.
Think Tank is a concept album about “love and politics”, associated with the widespread protests against the Iraq war notably. Anti-war themes are recurrent in the album as well as in associated artwork and promotional videos. After leaking onto the internet in March, Think Tank was released on 5 May 2003 and entered the UK Album Chart at number one, making it Blur‘s fifth consecutive studio album to reach the top spot. Think Tank also reached the top 20 in many other countries, including Austria, Switzerland, Germany, Norway and Japan. It was their highest charting album in the United States, reaching number 56 on the Billboard 200. The album produced three singles, which charted at number 5, number 18 and number 22 respectively on the UK Singles Chart.
