BANKSY // Because I'm Worthless, 2004

  • Banksy’s 2004 Because I'm Worthless rat with placard, satirical message of self-deprecation.

    Banksy, Because I’m Worthless, 2004.

    Screen-print in colours on wove paper, 50 × 35 cm.
    © Banksy.

    Part of Banksy’s Placard Rats series, Because I’m Worthless sees one of his iconic vermin clutching a placard that twists L’Oréal’s empowering advertising slogan into something far more cynical. The rat, rendered in stark stencil, becomes the reluctant mascot of disillusionment, holding up a sign that drips in red like fresh paint — or protest. Where the beauty industry sells aspiration and self-worth through consumerism, Banksy flips the phrase to expose the hollowness that lies beneath, suggesting that in a system built on profit, individuals are reduced to feeling “worthless.”

     

    The rat has long been central to Banksy’s visual language, acting as both underdog and survivor, reviled yet resilient. In Because I’m Worthless, this symbolism merges with his satirical take on advertising, creating an image that is as biting as it is absurd. Like much of Banksy’s work, it also tips its hat to stencil pioneer Blek le Rat, who elevated rodents into urban anti-heroes decades earlier.

     
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  • “They exist without permission. They are hated, hunted, and persecuted. Yet they survive.”

    – Banksy

    Because I’m Worthless takes aim at the emptiness behind advertising slogans, subverting L’Oréal’s empowering “Because I’m Worth It” into something bleaker and more self-deprecating. By giving this line to one of his trademark rats, Banksy fuses humour with social critique, turning a symbol of survival and defiance into the reluctant face of consumer disillusionment. The dripping red placard reinforces the urgency of the message, making the work a sharp reminder of how marketing language can shape, distort, and undermine identity.