Gauntlet Gallery — Banksy Prints
Mosquito (First Edition)
Work Summary & Collector Notes
Mosquito (First Edition) is a hand-painted stencil multiple from 2003 depicting a large black housefly/mosquito-like insect rendered in Banksy's signature spray-stencil silhouette, its tail trailing into drips, encircled by a horseshoe-shaped arc of red five-pointed stars on raw white canvas. The motif fuses an everyday pest with a constellation of stars, an early example of Banksy weaponizing a banal subject into loaded political iconography during the period when he was transitioning from walls to gallery-ready works.
Collector notes: Edition; saved release record states an edition size of 10. 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 red-star arc reads unmistakably as flag and military insignia, turning a swatted insect into a comment on power, surveillance and the disposability of life under state and corporate authority — the anti-establishment register that defines Banksy. Made in 2003, the same year as the Iraq invasion and his Turf War show, the piece sits at the moment Banksy's street vocabulary was being condensed into hand-finished objects, and its sparse stencil-and-spatter execution shows the raw, fast technique that made his name. As a one-of-ten hand-painted multiple rather than a mass screen print, it occupies the rarer, more painterly end of his early output.
Collector Perspective
With an edition of just 10, this is a genuinely scarce object well below the run sizes of Banksy's screen prints (often 150 to 750). As a hand-painted multiple each example is individually executed, so condition, the placement of the spray drips, and any hand-applied variation matter to value, and provenance documentation is critical given the size of the Banksy market and the volume of fakes. Buyers should confirm signed-versus-unsigned status and full provenance before committing, as hand-painted early works carry a meaningful authentication premium and risk.
Historical Context
2003 was a pivotal year for Banksy: the run-up to and outbreak of the Iraq War sharpened his anti-war, anti-authority output, and his Turf War exhibition in East London brought his stencils into a gallery context. The insect-and-stars composition belongs to this Stencil Boom era, when Banksy was rapidly translating quick-strike street motifs into limited hand-finished works for an emerging collector base. The arc of red stars evokes flag iconography and martial symbolism, framing the lowly insect as a stand-in for the expendable individual under militarized power.
Documented Release Details
- Object type
- Editioned print or object
- Release date
- 2003
- Release-date note
- Catalog-listed release year from the saved secondary record; primary release-page confirmation remains pending.
- Medium and materials
- Hand Painted Multiple.
- Edition details
- Edition; saved release record states an edition size of 10.
- 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: 2003 was a pivotal year for Banksy: the run-up to and outbreak of the Iraq War sharpened his anti-war, anti-authority output, and his Turf War exhibition in East London brought his stencils into a gallery context. 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 2003.
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 Mosquito depict?
A large black insect rendered as a spray-painted stencil silhouette with trailing drips, set on raw white canvas and framed by a horseshoe arc of red five-pointed stars, fusing a common pest with flag and military star imagery.
How large is the edition?
The edition size is 10, making it a genuinely scarce work compared with Banksy's screen-print editions that typically run from roughly 150 to 750.
Is this work signed?
The title does not specify signed or artist proof status.
What medium is it?
It is a hand-painted multiple from 2003, meaning each of the ten examples was individually hand-executed using spray stencil rather than mass-printed, placing it at the more painterly, scarcer end of Banksy's early output.
Who is Banksy?
Banksy is the anonymous England-based street artist who emerged from Bristol in the early 1990s, known for fast stencil technique, dark humour, and anti-war, anti-capitalist and anti-establishment imagery, with recurring motifs including rats, monkeys, riot police and children with balloons.
