PROVENANCE
Private Collection, Auckland Purchased from Pictures on Walls, 2006

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

Gangsta Rat was originally a mural that appeared in Farringdon in 2004, then Old Street in 2006 and finally New York in 2013 on the occasion of the artist's painting residency: Better Out Than In. In 2004 it was subsequently produced as a screenprint in Banksy's iconic spray-stencil style.

The work depicts a rat sitting next to a boombox wearing accessories typical of "gangster" street wear, such as a New York Mets baseball cap, an ear piercing and a long chain. In the background the tagged letters IPOW appear as a central splash of colour. This is an ironic social commentary on the ubiquity of Apple products and POW is a reference to Banksy's print publisher: Pictures on Walls.

The rat character portrayed is reminiscent of the New York underground style that emerged across the United Kingdom in the 1980s and 90s, also drawing inspiration from Blek Le Rat, the French graffiti artist who originally started using rats as his symbol. In the publication Wall and Piece, Banksy said: Every time I think I've painted something slightly original, I find out that Blek le Rat has done it as well, only 20 years earlier.