Summary
Choose Your Weapon (Bright Pink) depicts a greyscale stencilled hoodie-wearing youth, rendered in Banksy's signature dripping spray technique, standing against a flat bright-pink ground while holding a chain leash attached to a barking dog lifted directly from Keith Haring's iconic 1980s line-drawing. By substituting Haring's joyful, energetic dog for a guard animal restrained by a hooded figure, Banksy turns a celebrated piece of street-art history into a literal "weapon," collapsing graffiti homage, menace and humour into one image. It is among Banksy's most sought-after and instantly recognisable Pictures on Walls prints, issued across a spectrum of vivid colourways.
Why It Matters
The print is one of Banksy's clearest art-historical statements: rather than quoting an old master, he appropriates Keith Haring, a fellow street artist who moved from the subway to the gallery, and reframes Haring's exuberant Barking Dog as something to be wielded. The hooded figure, a loaded symbol of youth criminalisation and surveillance-era "hoodie" panic in late-2000s Britain, holds the chained animal like a threat, asking the viewer to read the dog as protest, defence or aggression. It is at once a tribute, a provocation about who controls public imagery, and a wry comment on graffiti's own conversion into a marketable, weaponisable brand, themes squarely within Banksy's protest-and-subversion and policing-and-surveillance vocabulary.
Collector Perspective
Choose Your Weapon is a cornerstone of any Banksy print collection and one of the most actively traded titles at auction. This is the Bright Pink colourway from the 2010 signed release in an edition of 70, published via Pictures on Walls. Signed examples in the small edition of 70 sit well above the unsigned editions in both desirability and price, and the title overall exists in a wide range of standard and rarer "AP" colour variants, which collectors actively chase by colour. Provenance matters: buyers should expect Pelican/POW documentation or a Pest Control certificate, and condition issues common to large screenprints (handling creases, light-stable but fade-prone bright inks) materially affect value. As a recognised, frequently-offered title it offers strong liquidity, though the bright pink variant's appeal is partly colour-driven and pricing tracks the broader Banksy market.
Historical Context
Released in 2010 through Pictures on Walls during Banksy's transition into the mainstream art world, the image extends his long engagement with graffiti's lineage by quoting Keith Haring (1958-1990), whose chalk-drawn Radiant Baby and Barking Dog defined New York street art a generation earlier. The hooded subject draws on the "hoodie" as a flashpoint of British public anxiety in the 2000s, an era of ASBOs, CCTV expansion and tabloid panic over urban youth, aligning the work with Banksy's recurring interest in policing, surveillance and the criminalisation of the young. The print appeared the same year Banksy's reputation was cresting toward the release of his film Exit Through the Gift Shop.
FAQ
What does Choose Your Weapon (Bright Pink) depict?
A greyscale stencilled figure in a hooded sweatshirt stands against a bright-pink background holding a chain leash attached to a barking dog. The dog is copied from Keith Haring's famous line-drawing, so the print reads as a Banksy tribute to, and appropriation of, another street artist's imagery, with the dog framed as a 'weapon.'
What is the edition size?
This release is an edition of 70.
Is this print signed or unsigned?
This is the signed Bright Pink edition of 70. Banksy issued Choose Your Weapon in both signed and unsigned editions and across many colourways; signed examples are scarcer and more valuable than the unsigned versions.
What medium is it?
It is a screen print (silkscreen) on paper, dated 2010 and published by Pictures on Walls.
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 humour and anti-establishment messages, recurring motifs such as rats and balloons, prints published through Pictures on Walls, and stunts like the self-shredding Girl with Balloon.
About the Artist
Banksy is an anonymous England-based street artist, political activist and film director whose identity remains officially unconfirmed. Emerging from the Bristol underground scene in the early 1990s, he developed a fast, stencil-based technique for working in public space, pairing dark humour with anti-war, anti-capitalist and anti-establishment messages. Recurring motifs include rats, monkeys, riot police, and children with balloons or weapons. Many of his prints were published through Pictures on Walls and rank among the most heavily traded in the secondary market, while stunts such as the self-shredding Girl with Balloon, the Walled Off Hotel in Bethlehem and the Gross Domestic Product homeware line have made him one of the most recognised artists in the world.
Collecting Banksy at Gauntlet Gallery
Where can I buy authentic Banksy prints?
Gauntlet Gallery offers an extensive, authenticated inventory of Banksy prints and contemporary editions, with new drops added regularly. Browse the current collection at gauntlet.gallery.
How does Gauntlet Gallery ensure authenticity?
Gauntlet Gallery is built on curation, authenticity and transparency — every work is vetted and its provenance, edition details and condition are disclosed up front.
Does Gauntlet Gallery add new Banksy prints?
Yes. New drops are released regularly across Banksy and other leading artists; see gauntlet.gallery for the latest inventory.