BANKSY // Laugh Now

Banksy, Laugh Now But One Day We’ll Be In Charge, 2000.
Acrylic and stencil spray-paint on canvas, 61 × 61 cm.
© Banksy.

Banksy’s monkeys first appeared in the early 2000s with Laugh Now, a mural created for a Brighton nightclub that showed a row of chimpanzees wearing sandwich boards reading, “Laugh now, but one day we’ll be in charge”. They soon reappeared in works such as Keep It Real, where a single chimp stands beneath bold lettering. Both pieces cemented the monkey as one of Banksy’s most recognisable motifs.

Humorous yet unsettling, the monkeys are often read as a satirical portrait of human society, highlighting themes of power, inequality and political absurdity. Their expressions and postures carry a sense of both vulnerability and quiet defiance, while the slogans deliver sharp, memorable commentary. Over the years, they have come to represent Banksy’s talent for turning simple imagery into enduring political and cultural critique.

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ORIGINS OF THE MOTIF
"Laugh now but one day we'll be in charge"

- Banksy

On the street, Banksy’s monkeys first gained attention with the original Laugh Now mural created for a Brighton nightclub in 2002. Since then, they have reappeared in various public settings, from stencilled walls to large-scale installations, each time carrying slogans that mix humour with social critique. Notable street appearances include adaptations of Laugh Now in Brighton and London, as well as variations on Keep It Real that surfaced in city centres. In these urban contexts, the monkeys take on an even sharper political edge, using their familiar forms and bold lettering to comment on power, protest and the absurdities of public life.
- Laugh Now But One Day We Will Be In Charge, 2000
  © Banksy.
- Laugh Now But One Day We’ll Be In Charge, 2002
  © Banksy.
- Keep it real, 2002
  © Banksy.
- Keep it real, 2003
  © Banksy.
- Laugh Now, 2003
  © Banksy.
POLITICAL COMMENTARY
Banksy, Devolved Parliament, 2009.
Oil on canvas, 250 × 420 cm.
© Banksy.

Devolved Parliament takes Banksy’s long-standing monkey motif and places it inside one of Britain’s most recognisable symbols of authority — the House of Commons. Since the early 2000s, monkeys have appeared throughout his work, from the sandwich-board chimps in Laugh Now to the solitary figure in Keep It Real. Sometimes they stand in for the powerless, other times for those in positions of control, allowing Banksy to shift their meaning to suit the message.

In Devolved Parliament, the chimps take on the role of the political establishment itself. The scene is immediately readable and deeply satirical, echoing the tradition of British political caricature that stretches back to William Hogarth. By replacing elected officials with chimpanzees, Banksy delivers a sharp critique of political dysfunction, using a familiar image from his own visual arsenal. The work condenses years of social commentary into a single, powerful tableau - one that is public in tone, rich in symbolism and unflinching in its view of authority.
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