BANKSY // Stop and Search, 2007

  • Banksy’s 2007 Stop and Search girl frisked by soldier, provocative anti-authority piece.

    Banksy, Stop and Search, 2007.
    Screen-print in colours on Arches wove paper, 76 × 56 cm.
    © Banksy.

    Stop and Search features Dorothy from The Wizard of Oz under the watchful eye of a police officer. Rendered mostly in monochrome, the artwork uses a splash of blue on the officer’s latex gloves to draw attention to the moment he searches Dorothy’s basket.
     
    This image questions authority and highlights issues surrounding suspicion and racial profiling. Banksy uses this striking scene to challenge the power dynamics of stop-and-search policing and its broader impact on personal freedom and privacy.
     
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  • "A lot of what the police do just comes down to people in uniform telling you what you can and can’t do – whether it makes sense or not."

    – Banksy

    Stop and Search is one of Banksy’s sharpest critiques of policing and state authority. The image reimagines Dorothy from The Wizard of Oz standing with her basket, stopped not by a witch or storm, but by a uniformed officer. Executed largely in monochrome, the composition is punctuated by the officer’s bright blue latex gloves, a jarring detail that emphasises the invasive nature of the search.
    By pairing an innocent, nostalgic character with a symbol of state power, Banksy highlights how stop-and-search practices undermine freedom and target the vulnerable. The work speaks to larger issues of suspicion, racial profiling, and the erosion of trust between public and authority. It is classic Banksy: simple in form, biting in message, and globally resonant.
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