BANKSY // Banksquiat, 2019

  • Banksy’s 2019 Banksquiat homage to Basquiat with Ferris wheel, celebrating rebellious art.

    Banksy, Banksquiat, 2019.

    Screen-print on black or grey board, 70 × 70 cm.

    © Banksy.

    Banksquiat is Banksy’s nod to Jean-Michel Basquiat and a clever commentary on capitalism’s endless cycle of appropriation and consumerism. The print features a Ferris wheel where each carriage is replaced by Basquiat’s iconic crown motif, symbolising the mass reproduction of art from masterpieces to merchandise like T-shirts and adverts.

     

    By openly referencing Basquiat, Banksy aligns himself with the roots of street art as high art- a tradition Basquiat helped pioneer through his urban interventions. The design’s grey tones and chalky white crowns against a black background also pay homage to Keith Haring, another street art legend famous for his chalk drawings in New York’s subway system.

     

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  • "All artists are at risk of being turned into brands — the trick is to stay unpredictable."

     — Banksy

    Banksquiat is Banksy’s homage to Jean-Michel Basquiat, but also a biting critique of how capitalism absorbs and repackages rebellion. By turning Basquiat’s symbol of raw creativity into a ride, Banksy highlights the tension between authenticity and commodification, how radical art is often recycled into logos and merchandise.
    The monochrome palette, punctuated by chalk-like crowns, creates a visual link to both Basquiat and Keith Haring, recalling Haring’s subway chalk drawings and the street-level energy that launched both artists into the art-historical canon. With this work, Banksy places himself within that lineage, while exposing the irony that even dissent eventually becomes part of the spectacle