Riot Cop
Riot Cop
Signed Mixed Media
Banksy
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Medium: Mixed Media
Edition size: 2
Year: 2004
Size: H 101cm x W 69cm
Signed: Yes
Format: Signed Mixed Media
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Auction Results
| Auction Date | Auction House | Location | Hammer Price | Return to Seller | Buyer Paid |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| April 2021 | Sotheby's Hong Kong | Hong Kong | |||
| October 2019 | Sotheby's Hong Kong | Hong Kong |
Meaning & Analysis
Riot Cop is a spray paint on card produced by the British street artist Banksy in 2004. Coming in a signed edition size of 2, the artwork shows a policeman holding a gun and wearing full riot protection gear. The policeman’s face is replaced with a yellow smiley face. The comic smiling face contrasts markedly with the way the police are viewed by society as enforcers of law and order.
The policeman is rendered using a stencil and spray paint and grey and black dominate the composition which is set against a plain white backdrop. The use of spray paint and stencil produces a bold, two-tone style which has become a defining feature of Banksy’s visual language. Banksy started his artistic career with freehand graffiti drawings, however the artist started using the stencil method in the 1990s as it enabled him to speed up the production of artworks and avoid being seen by onlookers or being caught by the police.
Riot Cop touches on themes of war, violence and the police state, subjects which Banksy often explores in his artworks. The spray paint also reflects a characteristic element of Banksy’s street art which is the use of humour to satirically critique war, violence capitalism and greed. Banksy’s artworks are highly political and capture the artist’s anti-establishment sentiment.