Flying Copper

Screen print on wove paper

70 x 100 cm

ETA TO THE GALLERY EARLY MAY

Flying Copper shows an armed police officer with a striking yellow smiley face, which evokes the 1990s acid house culture but also a simply-drawn popular and childlike design, together with angel wings attached to his back. The symbolism of the smiling face juxtaposed with an assault rifle and armor shows a striking image of oppression and threat hiding behind a friendly face. Flying Copper explores the line between “peace-keeper” and “militant forces,” reminding the viewer to be skeptical of those with too much authority or power. 

It first appeared under a number of giant cut-out paintings suspended on cardboard from the ceiling at Turf War, Banksy’s first major exhibition in a warehouse in East London in 2003. The cut-outs were later spotted on the streets of Vienna and London, where the stencil appeared with a distinct red Banksy tag through the middle of it. Shoreditch Bridge also featured a row of Flying Coppers at some point.

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