Specification
Photo print on Somerset Torn Rag 410gsm paper
Edition of 100
70cm x 50cm
Signed, numbered and thumb printed by the photographer
Description
This image features Banksy (his hands at least) adding the finishing touches to a version of Avon and Somerset Constabulary in his West London studio, around 2001.
In a moment of sublime irony, Avon and Somerset Police (responsible for Banksy's and my own home town of Bristol) were the first force in the UK to establish an anti-graffiti unit, in 2008. Before Banksy it was most famous for Operation Juliet, a 1970s initiative busting LSD factories that was immortalised in a BBC Play for Today production.
“Some people become cops because they want to make the world a better place. Some people become vandals because they want to make the world a better looking place,” Banksy wrote in Wall and Piece.