PROVENANCE

Private Collection, Auckland Purchased from Pictures on Walls 2009

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

ILLUSTRATED

p. 124 The Art of Banksy, A Visual Protest Gianni Mercurio, Prestel, 2019

This artwork was framed with archival materials including an acid free mat & backing. And Museum glass which is 99% UV protected.

This work is a quintessential example of Banksy's iconic stencil-style and depicts a tongue-in-cheek, ironic scene: the two children playing with a sign that says NO BALL GAMES, as if it were a ball. This is likely making a social commentary on the 'nanny state', and how even fundamental children's activities such as play are now controlled and regulated. The children's figures can also be interpreted as symbols for people in general, constantly under surveillance and regulation by a higher bureaucratic state power.

Banksy, famous for being a rule breaker himself, might be encouraging us all to break those sorts of rules. This work is an example of Banksy's frequent use of children as symbols of innocence and a sense of freedom, to formulate subversive social critique, much like in his other prints Girl with Balloon and Nola. No Ball Games originally appeared as a mural on the side of a shop at the junction of Tottenham High Road and Philip Lane, London in 2009. It was cut out of the wall and sold to raise funds for charity.