Author: BANKSY Title: Love Rat Date created: Liverpool (2004) Size: 68 x 48 cm 180g semi-gloss paper. Prints were available on the international exhibition: Banksy The Art of Protest. New to frame. Shipping in a rigid tube via certified express mail. It is possible to collect more than one object in the same shipment Rats are one of Banksy’s most prolific subjects, and the Placard Rats series are highly desirable and popular Banksy artworks. Tree works first appeared as a trilogy in 2004 with 75 signed screen prints and 175 unsigned screen prints each, with red and pink colorways. Banksy has reproduced variations of each of the Placard Rat prints as graffiti art in the streets, and urban art lovers all over the world have imprinted the image on coffee mugs, t-shirts, posters, and their bodies. Rats are iconic in Banksy street art prints because they are emblematic of street art itself. Rats are also a symbol for the millions of people in the world who face injustice and unfairness in the so-called “rat race.” Banksy wrote this about rats in his 2005 book Wall and Piece: “If you are dirty, insignificant and unloved then rats are the ultimate role model.” Banksy rats reference the so-called father of stencil graffiti,” Blek Le Rat. This French stencil artist, who made his name in the 1980s, was similarly fond of rats as subjects because of their massive, if negatively perceived, impact on populations. Banksy’s Placard Rat series shows an indignant-looking rat holding up a picketing placard. Each of the street art prints has a message written on the placard: “Because I’m Worthless,” “Welcome To Hell,” and “Get Out While You Still Can.” Although the rat wears a necklace bearing a peace sign, he seems to be mentally engaged in a war against his condition.