BANKSY // Avon And Somerset Constabulary, 2001

  • Banksy’s 2001 Avon and Somerset Constabulary reimagines UK police force, satirical institutional portrait.
    Banksy, Avon and Somerset Constabulary, 2000.
    Stencil spray-paint and oil on canvas, 60.5 × 60.5 cm. From a series of 2 unique colourways.
    Stencil-signed “BANKSY” incorporated into the design.
    © Banksy.
    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.
  • "Some people become cops because they want to make the world a better place. Some people become vandals because they want to make the world a better looking place."
    - Banksy
    Avon and Somerset Constabulary is a rare early work by Banksy, produced in an edition of just two. The stencilled composition shows two police officers set against a solid blue background, one holding binoculars and the other drinking from a baby’s bottle. The pared-back design highlights Banksy’s sharp wit, reducing authority figures to caricature through a simple but striking visual contrast. The stencil signature “BANKSY” appears in the lower left corner, serving both as authentication and as part of the satire.