BANKSY // Chequebook Vandalism, 2003

  • Banksy’s 2003 Chequebook Vandalism critiques art market and wealthy patronage in the graffiti world.
    Banksy, Chequebook Vandalism, 2003.
    Stencil spray-paint on card, 69.5 × 99.6 cm. Unique.
    © Banksy.
    Back to: Banksy Originals
     
    Chequebook Vandalism (2003) captures Banksy’s sharpest critique of capitalism and conformity. The scene shows a crowd of suited men in bowler hats and ties, caught in a frenzy of destruction. Armed with briefcases, umbrellas, and financial tools, they rush about in chaos, their uniform appearance collapsing into absurdity.
     
    The work lampoons the world of finance, exposing it as violent and irrational despite its outward veneer of order. By presenting businessmen as vandals, Banksy undermines the respectability of corporate culture and highlights its destructive role in society. The title, Chequebook Vandalism, pushes the point further, suggesting that money itself is often the most reckless weapon of all.
  • “We can’t do anything to change the world until capitalism crumbles.”
    – Banksy
    Created in 2003, Chequebook Vandalism is a unique stencil spray-paint on card measuring 69.5 × 99.6 cm. The composition depicts identical suited figures running, throwing, and smashing objects with briefcases and umbrellas scattered across the ground. Rendered in Banksy’s stark monochrome stencil style, the image satirises financial culture, portraying bankers not as pillars of stability but as agents of reckless destruction.