PROVENANCE
Private Collection, Auckland

This work is accompanied by a Certificate of Authenticity from Pest Control

Banksy's original four-colour screenprint Soup Cans, is a play on Andy Warhol's now infamous Pop Art Campbell's Soup Cans. Banksy has taken the idea that commercial products can be art, as is the Pop Art ethos, but has rendered it in his tongue-in-cheek style with Tesco Value cans of cream of tomato soup. This limited edition screenprint is one of Banksy's most iconic. Four different variations were released. The number of cans featured on the print and their colours vary. Banksy first turned to graffiti as a young, disillusioned adolescent. Inspired by the thriving graffiti community in his home city, Bristol, Banksy's works began appearing on trains and city streets in 1993, and by 2001 his signature, stencilled works had cropped up all over the United Kingdom.

Typically crafting his images with spray paint and cardboard stencils, Banksy is able to achieve a meticulous level of detail. His aesthetic is clean and instantly comprehensible due to his unique ability to distil complex political and social statements into simple visual elements.

His graffiti, paintings, and screenprints use whimsy and humour to satirically critique war, capitalism, hypocrisy and greed. His anti-establishment wit has had an undeniable impact on today's contemporary street culture.