Gauntlet Gallery — Banksy Prints
Love Is In The Air CCCP (First Edition)
Work Summary & Collector Notes
This print reworks Banksy's signature "Flower Thrower" (Love Is In The Air): a masked rioter, frozen mid-throw in the stance of hurling a Molotov cocktail, instead launches a bouquet of flowers — but here the silhouetted black-and-grey figure is set against the bold red Cyrillic letters "CCCP" (the Soviet Union's abbreviation, USSR), recasting the image as an overtly Cold War / Soviet-bloc statement. It is the "CCCP First Edition" variant of one of the most reproduced and recognizable images in Banksy's entire catalogue.
Collector notes: Edition label was not stated, and total quantity was not documented in the saved record. 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
The Flower Thrower is Banksy's defining gesture of subversion: the visual grammar of street violence — the keffiyeh-style face covering, the wound-up throwing arm — redirected into an act of peace. Pairing that figure with "CCCP" sharpens the politics, planting the anti-establishment protester squarely against the iconography of a fallen totalitarian superpower and the broader 20th-century struggle between state power and the individual. It distills Banksy's core method — hijacking a loaded image and inverting its meaning — into a single, instantly legible frame, which is exactly why the base composition went on to become a global symbol of nonviolent resistance.
Collector Perspective
The Flower Thrower is among the most sought-after images Banksy ever produced, and the "CCCP First Edition" is a recognized early variant tied to the original 2002 emergence of the motif. Edition size for this specific version is not documented here, so buyers should not assume a fixed run; signed examples and artist proofs always command a substantial premium over unsigned copies, and provenance (original gallery paperwork, Pictures on Walls or comparable issuance, condition of the heavy stock and red ink) materially drives value. As with all Banksy prints, authentication and paperwork matter more than the image itself — verify before paying Flower Thrower money, since the composition is heavily reproduced.
Historical Context
Dating to 2002 and Banksy's early Bristol period, this is part of the lineage of the Flower Thrower / Love Is In The Air image, which Banksy first deployed as a wall piece in the Middle East and then circulated in print. The "CCCP" treatment ties the figure to Soviet iconography — CCCP being the Cyrillic acronym for the USSR — folding the universal protester into a specifically Cold War frame at a moment, just over a decade after the Soviet collapse, when that imagery still carried heavy political charge. It belongs to the formative years in which Banksy moved from Bristol stencils toward the internationally recognized anti-war voice of the 2000s.
Documented Release Details
- Object type
- Editioned screenprint
- Release date
- 2002
- 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 label was not stated, and total quantity was not documented in the saved record.
- 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: Dating to 2002 and Banksy's early Bristol period, this is part of the lineage of the Flower Thrower / Love Is In The Air image, which Banksy first deployed as a wall piece in the Middle East and then circulated in print. 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 2002.
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 this print depict?
A masked protester caught mid-throw in the stance of hurling a Molotov cocktail, but launching a bouquet of flowers instead. The black-and-grey figure is set against the large red Cyrillic letters CCCP, the Soviet-era abbreviation for the USSR. It is a variant of Banksy's famous Flower Thrower / Love Is In The Air image.
What is the edition size?
The edition size for this CCCP First Edition variant is not confirmed in our records. Buyers should rely on the specific paperwork accompanying an individual example rather than assume a fixed run.
Is it signed or unsigned?
The title does not specify signed or unsigned, so both may exist. Signed examples and artist proofs carry a significant premium over unsigned copies; always confirm against the certificate or gallery paperwork for the specific piece.
What medium is it?
It is a screen print, dated 2002, from Banksy's early Bristol era.
Who is Banksy?
Banksy is the anonymous England-based street artist who emerged from Bristol in the early 1990s, known for fast stencil work, dark humour, and anti-war, anti-capitalist, anti-establishment imagery — and for stunts such as the self-shredding of Girl with Balloon.
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