In this video, Matt Langton, senior specialist at auction house Phillips, discusses the spray paint and oil-on-wood work ‘Gas Mask Boy’ by graffiti artist Banksy.

The anonymous artist first turned to graffiti as a young, disillusioned adolescent. His works began appearing on trains and city streets in 1993, and by 2001 his signature, stenciled 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 distill complex political and social statements into simple visual elements.

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

View the original video here.

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