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This unique Banksy piece is one of the only remaining works from his 2003 debut solo exhibition Turf War. The exhibition was held in an abandoned warehouse located at 479 Kingsland High Street in London. At the time, the artist was purportedly 28 years old and already a bit, shall we say, camera shy. To this day, few people know what he looks like as he has kept a very private profile.
Banksy’s biographer Will Ellsworth-Jones regards Turf War as his breakthrough exhibition, launching the elusive artist’s career and setting him on a path to international acclaim. The exhibition was controversial and only on view to the public for four days. The work in question was spray-painted on the rear window of a disused police van intended to be destroyed. The van disappeared before it could be destroyed. Prior to the disappearance of the van, the back window, the ground for the artwork featured here, was dangling off and thus luckily removed prior to the theft. Because Pest Control, Banksy’s office support, has requested that the work not be sold (as it was the artist’s intention that it be destroyed), the anonymous owner has collaborated with Curina to make it available for rent only.
The spray-painted monkey is a variation of what later gained notoriety as one of Banksy’s most popular and took the name of Laugh Now, for a sign the monkey is sometime seen wearing that reads: "Laugh now, but one day we'll be in charge." The painting has been safely stored at the owner's home and has not been seen or exhibited in the 19 years since it was originally shown.
