Have A Nice Day (Anarchist Book Fair)
Have A Nice Day (Anarchist Book Fair)
Signed Print
Banksy
£24,000-£35,000Value Indicator
$50,000-$70,000 Value Indicator
$45,000-$60,000 Value Indicator
¥230,000-¥340,000 Value Indicator
€28,000-€40,000 Value Indicator
$260,000-$380,000 Value Indicator
¥4,720,000-¥6,890,000 Value Indicator
$35,000-$50,000 Value Indicator
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31 x 99cm, Edition of 67, Screenprint
Medium: Screenprint
Edition size: 67
Year: 2003
Size: H 31cm x W 99cm
Signed: Yes
Format: Signed Print
Last Auction: January 2023
Value Trend:
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Meaning & Analysis
British street artist Banksy's early screen print, Have A Nice Day (Anarchist Book Fair) (2003), from a signed special edition of 67, depicts a military police force with the artist's acid-house smiley face pasted over their faces. This juxtaposition simultaneously undermines the forces’ authority while exaggerating their threatening aura.
In one of the first ever screen prints released by Banksy, he takes on law enforcement in a bold and striking way; a landscape piece, which depicts almost thirty military or riot police lined up from left to right, in the middle of them a large military tank, locked and loaded. The piece is entitled Have a Nice Day, which is a hugely ironic sentiment given the menacing nature of the men in riot gear staring out of the canvas.
On close inspection of the work, the officers have their faces obscured with a yellow ‘acid-house’ smiley face, something most commonly associated with 1990s rave culture, but that can actually be trace to its roots in popular culture of the 1960s when it was used as a feel-good symbol. Something so innocent and ‘happy’ however, was ripe for subversion and through the decades that followed, the smiley was coopted by various movements ranging from horror films, to serial killers, the Far Right and in popular graphic novel The Watchman - in which it is used to examine the corruption of power. This is incredibly pertinent to this piece by Banksy, and indeed many of his other images where he repurposes the yellow smiley.
Renowned British street artist, Banksy, is the enigmatic figure behind some of the most subversive works in the Urban Art scene. Despite his anonymity, the artists' disruptive stunts have not only gained him notoriety, but they have vocalised his stance on many social and political issues. As seen with the likes of Girl With Balloon and Napalm, Banksy uses his distinctive stencil technique to produce thought-provoking commentaries on challenging themes. The showcase of rebellion that lines his work has caused his secondary market value to soar in recent years, propelling him to the top of the Urban Art scene.
