'Chimpanzee' by Physical Graffiti, 2024
Blind Box-style figure based on Banksy's 'Laugh Now' from 2003.
DesignerCon 2024 exclusive Glow-in-the-Dark variant.
4 Inches tall
10.2 Centimeters tall
4.3 x 2.65 x 2.25 Inches (box)
Collectible designer monkey with sandwich board vinyl art figure.
Limited Edition (Sold Out).
New in original, unopened box.
ABOUT THE ART
'Laugh Now' portrays a forlorn monkey, wearing a sandwich board suggesting that he is oppressed or enslaved. Along with the rat, the monkey is one of Banksy’s most frequently used animal characters, to satirize the nature of humankind. Laugh Now could well be a criticism of the way humans have been treating animals, our primate cousins, whether poaching or capturing them for entertainment, or medical testing. The ominous text on the board is both mocking and threatening, suggesting that the character is preparing an uprising, as if Banksy is warning of an imminent revolution. It is also the artist’s humorous take on Darwin’s theory of evolution.
'Laugh Now' was first commissioned in 2002 by the Ocean Rooms Nightclub on Morley Street in Brighton. It was originally a six-meter-long spray-painted mural, with the figure of the monkey repeated ten times in a row to form a backdrop to the Brighton bar. 'Laugh Now' perfectly encapsulates Banksy’s modus operandi while conjuring the dark thematic elements that underlie such a comic piece. Ten monkeys, the last only present in half its form, stand side-by-side, full frontal and unashamed to display their sandwich-board messages. Though four figures bear no words at all, six communicate a very specific memo: “Laugh now, but one day we’ll be in charge.” The spare black spray paint upon the bleached white board lends the normally mischievous primates a sinister air, their expressions eliminated in a hyper-saturation of darkness. It is as if Banksy has multiplied their numbers into something resembling an army, daring observers to take pleasure in their misfortune.
Banksy’s history as a street artist and his efforts to conceal his identity make his artistic figures his only interactive surrogates. Bearing this in mind, the monkeys upon the panel not only assume an anarchistic quality—promising full revenge upon their rise to power—but also make for a fascinating study into the future of street art. And, as his exhibition spaces shift from urban alleyways to galleries, Banksy paints a fascinating commentary on the current state of contemporary art.
Even though no mural remains with this iconic stencil, Banksy realized many originals on various media using the 'Laugh Now' stencil. Those command high prices at auction.