Part of a rare edition of two, Avon and Somerset Constabulary captures Banksy’s early fusion of humour and social critique. Two British police officers are stencilled in stark black against a flat blue ground, their roles undercut by absurd detail. One officer peers through binoculars, invoking surveillance and authority, while the other drinks from a baby’s bottle, a comic gesture that strips away seriousness and power.
The simplicity of the composition sharpens its impact. Banksy reduces law enforcement to contradictions: both watcher and child, protector and parody. By embedding his stencil signature into the lower left, he doubles the joke, transforming a mark of authorship into a playful act of defiance.
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