'Smiley' by Banksy (after), 2023
Limited Edition Skateboard deck from the travelling exhibition BanksyLand.
8.25 x 32 Inches
Screen print on 7-ply Canadian Maple hardwood skate deck.
Limited Edition (Sold Out)
New in shrink wrap with Sk8 of the Art COA.

*Note: Skate Deck wall hangers sold separately.

ABOUT THE ART

"A caveat of making popular guerrilla art is that often it can’t be enjoyed by the people it is meant to reach. Banksyland, an immersive touring exhibition, is working to change that."

- Los Angeles Times

The art world’s agent provocateur in chief, Banksy, has gone from Bristol-based graffiti writer to international Street Art sensation. The artist’s personal biography is relatively unknown and the question still remains, who is Banksy? Despite Banksy's anonymity, his subversive works have acted as a mouthpiece for the artist's stance on social issues, boosting him to the top of the Urban Art scene.

Inspired by the French graffiti artist, Blek le Rat (real name Xavier Prou), Banksy’s art is both simple and evocative, poking fun through their satirical content. Banksy is well-known for using public buildings to stage his works, but it is his infamous stunts have further cemented him as a household name.

Banksy’s stunts go hand in hand with the most notable works of his career. Such is the case with his groundbreaking Girl with Balloon, which began as a series of murals in 2002 depicting a young girl with her hand reaching for a red, heart-shaped balloon. During a 2018 Sotheby’s auction, Banksy’s Girl with Balloon was shredded before a crowd of stunned onlookers. Now titled Love Is In The Bin, Banksy’s audacious act boosted the artwork’s selling price by 20%, making it the highest-selling Banksy work ever sold at £18.9 million.

Another of Banksy’s most famous artworks is his 2020 Game Changer, which was painted in tribute to the efforts of the NHS against the COVID pandemic. Selling for £16.7 million at auction, the proceeds were donated to the NHS and the painting was hung at the Southampton General Hospital.

Banksy’s 2009 Devolved Parliament is also worthy of note. It is an iconic painting that depicts chimpanzees debating in the House of Commons. A witty, political commentary on the state of British politics, the painting was displayed in Bristol Museum on Brexit Day and served as a fitting reflection of events, even a decade after its execution.