BANKSY // Sickle Kid, 1999

  • Banksy Sickle Kid 1999 stencil street art of child holding a sickle
    Banksy, Sickle Kid, 1999.
    Stencil spray-paint and acrylic on board, 30 × 50 cm.
    © Banksy.
    Created in 1999, Sickle Kid is one of Banksy’s earliest and most striking social commentaries. The work depicts the silhouette of a young child holding a sickle, facing a figure in streetwear whose body is splattered with vibrant red and purple paint. The composition juxtaposes innocence with implied violence, offering a chilling metaphor for how children are implicated in cycles of labour, power, and conflict.
     
    Rendered with the raw immediacy of spray-painted stencils and heightened by acrylic splashes, the piece captures Banksy’s early experimentation with stark imagery and political symbolism. Sickle Kid exemplifies the provocative style that would come to define his practice, combining dark humour with a sharp critique of societal structures. Small in scale yet powerful in message, it stands as an important marker in Banksy’s evolution from the Bristol graffiti scene to the international art stage.
     
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  • “Sometimes I feel so sick at the state of the world I can’t even finish my second apple pie.”

     – Banksy

    One of Banksy’s earliest and most unsettling works, Sickle Kid captures the tension between innocence and violence. A child’s silhouette holds a sickle, confronting a streetwear figure splashed with vivid paint. The clash of playful form and brutal symbolism delivers a sharp commentary on power, exploitation, and cycles of conflict.
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