Gauntlet Gallery — Banksy Prints
Flying Copper (Pink Artist Proof)
Work Summary & Collector Notes
Flying Copper (Pink Artist Proof) is a 2007 Banksy screen print depicting a riot-geared police officer in full black tactical kit, armed with a machine gun, his face replaced by Banksy's signature yellow acid-house smiley balloon over a hot-pink ground. The cop's helmet, "POLICE" chest plate, radio and weapon are rendered in crisp black-and-white stencil, the menace of state force collapsed into a single absurd, grinning mask. It is one of Banksy's defining anti-authority images and a cornerstone of his Police & Surveillance subjects.
Collector notes: Edition; saved release record states an edition size of 100. Edition-specific signature, numbering, and stamp details were not stated in the saved release record. Verify signing and numbering against a documented example of this edition.
Why It Matters
Flying Copper fuses two icons that dominated late-20th-century British protest culture: the militarized riot policeman and the acid-house smiley face that defined the rave and free-party movements the same police were sent to shut down. By grafting a beaming yellow smiley onto a gun-toting officer, Banksy turns the apparatus of "keeping the peace" into a cheerful executioner, a compact piece of visual satire about surveillance, authoritarian control and the friendly face the state wears while wielding force. The image first appeared in Banksy's 2003 Turf War show and became one of his most reproduced motifs, making the pink screen-print edition a flagship statement of his anti-establishment program.
Collector Perspective
This is an Artist Proof from a 2007 screen-print run with a main edition of 100, published in Banksy's Pictures on Walls (POW) era; the pink colorway is the rarer variant against the more common standard versions, and AP status places it outside the numbered run, which collectors typically value at a premium over numbered impressions. Condition is critical on screen prints of this period: the broad pink field shows handling, light-staining and toning readily, and the example here is shown framed, so the buyer should confirm the sheet and any certification before relying on a valuation. As a recognizable, motif-driven image with POW provenance, it sits among the more liquid and sought-after Banksy editions.
Historical Context
The Flying Copper character debuted at Banksy's 2003 Turf War exhibition in London and recurred through the mid-2000s as Britain's debates over policing, ID cards, CCTV expansion and the post-9/11 security state intensified. The smiley face it wears is borrowed directly from acid-house and rave iconography of the late 1980s and 1990s, a deliberate clash given that era's confrontations between ravers, free-party organizers and the police under measures like the Criminal Justice Act. This 2007 screen-print edition belongs to Banksy's Pictures on Walls Art-World Era, the period when his street imagery was translated into collectible studio editions and his market profile rose sharply.
Documented Release Details
- Object type
- Editioned screenprint
- Release date
- 2007
- Release-date note
- Catalog-listed release year from the saved secondary record; primary release-page confirmation remains pending.
- Medium and materials
- Screen Print.
- Edition details
- Edition; saved release record states an edition size of 100.
- Signature and marks
- Edition-specific signature, numbering, and stamp details were not stated in the saved release record. Verify signing and numbering against a documented example of this edition.
Documented History and Meaning
History note: This page treats Banksy's broader career as background context, not proof that this specific edition belongs to any single exhibition or event. Release-level facts here come from a saved secondary catalog record.
Meaning / interpretation: Read as documented context rather than stated intent: The Flying Copper character debuted at Banksy's 2003 Turf War exhibition in London and recurred through the mid-2000s as Britain's debates over policing, ID cards, CCTV expansion and the post-9/11 security state intensified. This is an interpretive reading of the release context, not a statement of the artist's intent for this specific work. This interpretive note follows the cited artist or publisher context.
Release context: The saved catalog lists 2007.
Authentication, Presentation and Provenance
- Original presentation
- Original packaging or presentation was not documented in the release sources reviewed.
- Authentication note
- Compare the support, dimensions, edition number, and signature against a documented example of this edition. Gauntlet Gallery does not authenticate works purchased from third parties.
- Provenance note
- Edition origin is attributed in the saved record to the release source named in the saved record. That does not establish the ownership history of an individual copy: retain the original invoice, reseller or gallery paperwork, labels, correspondence, and condition photographs.
Sources and Verification
Verification status: Secondary catalog snapshot; artist-level context added
- Banksy — Wikipedia · reference encyclopedia · Accessed 2026-07-13 · General artist-level biographical and career reference.
- Banksy (Q133600) — Wikidata · reference knowledge base · Accessed 2026-07-13 · Structured identifier used for the artist across catalog metadata.
FAQ
What does Flying Copper (Pink Artist Proof) depict?
A full-body riot police officer in black tactical gear holding a machine gun, with the head replaced by Banksy's yellow acid-house smiley face, set against a bright pink background. The 'POLICE' chest plate, helmet, radio and weapon are rendered in black-and-white stencil.
How large was the edition?
The edition size for this 2007 screen print is 100. This particular impression is an Artist Proof (AP), produced outside the numbered run, which makes it scarcer than a standard numbered print.
Is this print signed or unsigned?
This is listed as an Artist Proof. Whether a given AP is hand-signed or stamped/unsigned varies impression to impression, and signed examples command a premium.
What medium is it?
It is a screen print (silkscreen) on paper, dated 2007, published during Banksy's Pictures on Walls period.
Who is Banksy?
Banksy is an anonymous England-based street artist who emerged from Bristol in the early 1990s, known for fast stencil work, dark political humor, and anti-war, anti-capitalist and anti-establishment imagery, with many prints published through Pictures on Walls.
Related Banksy Works
