Choose Your Weapon

Medium: Screen-print in colors on wove paper
Year: 2010
Size: 70×70 (27 1/2 x 27 1/2 inches)
Edition: 100 signed
Publisher: Pictures on Walls

 

Choose Your Weapon Editions

Choose Your Weapon (Grey): 100 signed

Choose Your Weapon (Warm Grey/Queue Jumper): 58 signed

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Colorway Editions

14 regular colorways:25 signed each

Bright Pink, Bright Purple, Dark Orange, Khaki, Light Orange, Slate

Soft Yellow, Turquoise, Lemon, Olive, Magenta, Red, Sky Blue, Green

3 VIP Editions:25 signed each

Gold, Silver, White

Some prints from the White VIP Editions are hand-finished with red dots

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Artist’s Proofs Edition

58 signed AP

17 different colorways

 

Table of Contents

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Introduction

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An aloof, hooded figure wearing a mask, baggy jeans and trainers stands casually with one hand in his pocket – diametrically opposed to the frenzied, barking dog whose leash he tightly grips. The unidentifiable figure, whose appearance is much alike how Banksy is often represented, combines the artist’s quintessential stencil technique with a greater realism and three-dimensionality. His minimalist dog however, is rendered in a flat, hieroglyphic style with a thick black outline and solid white center. The contrasting figures of Banksy’s Choose Your Weapon first appeared in life-size scale on the wall of a pub in Bermondsey, South London, in 2010. The work refers to the increase in gang violence in the UK and the adoption of dogs trained to aggressively attack. Portraying man’s best friend acting as his weapon, the image is a commentary on the disaffected youth of modern Britain.

The minimalist animal, painted in a hieroglyphic all-white silhouette, contrasts with the hyper-realistic representation of his master. The style of Banksy’s dog pays tribute to the famous Barking Dog by Keith Haring. Maybe Banksy invites us to “Choose Our Weapon,” for peace and freedom. Like Banksy, Haring too rose to prominence through his graffiti drawings, making him an important influence for the street artist. Indeed, one can also see this visual as an illustration of the artist’s power in using his art and talent to convey messages.

First appearing in a subway drawing series from 1980-85, the barking dog is one of Keith Haring’s most well-known subjects. Both dogs and dog-human hybrids feature prominently in his works. Interpreted as a universal symbol of resistance and protection, barking to call out social injustice, the dog warns viewers of the abuses of power that pervade everyday life in America and beyond.

“I am intrigued with the shapes people choose as their symbols to create a language. There is within all forms a basic structure, an indication of the entire object with a minimum of lines that becomes a symbol. This is common to all languages, all people, all times.”

One of the street artist’s most universally recognized symbols, colorful canines with mouths open mid-yap are found throughout his body of work, from early subway tags to merchandise sold in Haring’s Pop Shops. The dog as a character has come to represent authoritarian governments, abuses of power, and police states, with artists using the symbol to warn against a mirage of oppressive regimes. Like Haring, Banksy appropriates this symbol to spread his own message. The simplicity of the dog, with its associations to Haring’s playful and cartoonish visual language, evoke a detachment to the reality of danger. It implies that the youth are often demonised and misrepresented as threatening, as well as echoing their distrust of the authorities.

CYW Colorways

1. Warm Grey

2. Cool Grey / Queue Jumper

3. Bright Pink

4. Bright Purple

Auction Results

Choose Your Weapon sold 3 times at auction in 2024. Choose Your Weapon (Blue) sold at Artcurial on 6 November 2024 for EUR 91,840 (USD 100,415). Choose Your Weapon (Light Orange) sold at SBI Art Auction on 6 July 2024 for JPY 12,650,000 (USD 80,599). Choose Your Weapon (Lemon) sold at Sotheby’s online on 20 March 2024 for GBP 50,800 (USD 64,426).

Choose Your Weapon sold 13 times in 2022 for a total turnover of GBP 1,711,375 (USD 2,164,998), at an average price of GBP 131,643 (USD 166,938). The highest price was achieved by Choose Your Weapon (VIP Gold) that sold at Christie’s online on 15 March 2022 for GBP 239,400 (USD 316,008).

Choose Your Weapon sold 14 times in 2021 for a total turnover of GBP 2,400,479 (USD 3,319,516), at an average price of GBP 171,463 (USD 237,108). The highest price and world auction record for the print was achieved by Choose Your Weapon (Fluoro Green) that sold at Sotheby’s online on 18 March 2021 for GBP 302,400 (USD 420,336).

Record Breakers

#1. Choose Your Weapon (Fluoro Green), 2010

Sotheby’s online: 18 March 2021
Estimated: GBP 40,000 – 60,000
GBP 302,400 / USD 420,336

BANKSY (b. 1974)
Choose Your Weapon (Fluoro Green), 2010
Screenprint in colors on wove paper
Signed in green crayon, numbered 8/25

BANKSY
Choose Your Weapon (Gold VIP), 2010
Screenprint in colors on wove paper
Signed in pink crayon, lower right
Numbered 5/25 in pink crayon, lower left

#3. Choose Your Weapon – Queue Jumping Grey, 2010

Sotheby’s online: 18 March 2021
Estimated: GBP 30,000 – 50,000
GBP 201,600 / USD 280,224

BANKSY (b. 1974)
Choose Your Weapon – Queue Jumping Grey, 2010
Screenprint in colors on wove paper
Signed in pencil, numbered 19/58

#4. Choose Your Weapon – Bright Pink, 2010

Phillips Hong-Kong: 7 June 2021

Estimated: HKD 400,000 – 600,000
HKD 2,016,000 / USD 260,000 / GBP 183,099

BANKSY
Choose Your Weapon – Bright Pink, 2010
Screenprint in colors on wove paper
Signed ‘BANKSY’ lower right; numbered ‘8/25’ lower left

#5. Choose Your Weapon – Bright Pink, 2010

Sotheby’s online: 17 September 2021
Estimated: GBP 100,000 – 150,000
GBP 176,400 / USD 245,196

BANKSY (b. 1974)
Choose Your Weapon – Bright Pink, 2010
Screenprint in colors on wove paper
Signed in red crayon, numbered 23/25

#6. Choose Your Weapon – Lemon, 2010

Phillips Hong-Kong: 4 December 2020

Estimated: HKD 300,000 – 400,000
HKD 1,890,000 / USD 243,850

BANKSY
Choose Your Weapon – Lemon, 2010
Screenprint in colors on wove paper
Signed ‘BANKSY’ lower right; numbered ’17/25′ lower left

#7. Choose Your Weapon (Bright Purple), 2010

Bonhams London: 29 June 2021
Estimated: GBP 100,000 – 150,000
GBP 175,250 / USD 242,399

BANKSY (b. 1974)

Choose Your Weapon (Bright Purple), 2010
Screenprint in colors on wove paper
Signed in pink crayon and numbered 11/25 in purple

#8. Choose Your Weapon (Green), 2010

Forum Auctions: 5 March 2021
Estimated: GBP 100,000 – 150,000
GBP 174,200 / USD 242,138

BANKSY (b.1974)
Choose Your Weapon (Green), 2010
Screenprint in colors on wove paper
Signed and numbered from the edition of 25 in green pencil

#9. Choose your weapon (Magenta) (Signed AP), 2010

Forum Auctions: 14 December 2021
Estimated: GBP 100,000 – 150,000
GBP 170,180 / USD 229,743

BANKSY (b.1974)
Choose your weapon (Magenta) (Signed AP), 2010
Screenprint in colors on wove paper
Signed and inscribed ‘AP’ in pink pencil from the total edition of 58 comprising different colorways

#10. Choose Your Weapon (Bright Purple), 2010

Forum Auctions: 27 January 2021
Estimated: GBP 100,000 – 150,000
GBP 167,500 / USD 229,475

BANKSY (b.1974)
Choose Your Weapon (Bright Purple), 2010
Screenprint in colors on wove paper
Signed and numbered from the edition of 25 in purple pencil

 

2025 Auction Results

Choose Your Weapon (Dark Orange), 2010

International Art Center: 29 July 2025
Estimated: NZD 100,000 – 150,000
NZD 108,000 (Hammer)
NZD 129,730 / USD 77,195

Choose Your Weapon (Sky Blue), 2010

Christie’s online: 1 April 2025
Estimated: GBP 60,000 – 80,000
GBP 81,900 / USD 105,815

BANKSY
Choose Your Weapon (Sky Blue), 2010
Screenprint in colors on wove paper
Signed and numbered 12/25 in blue crayon

‘Choose Your Weapon (Grey)’, 2010

Tate Ward Auctions: 19 March 2025
Estimated: GBP 30,000 – 50,000
GBP 45,000 / USD 58,005

BANKSY (British 1974-)
‘Choose Your Weapon (Grey)’, 2010
Screenprint in colors on wove paper
Signed and numbered from an edition of 100

Choose Your Weapon (Bright Pink), 2010

Forum Auctions: 5 March 2025
Estimated: GBP 40,000 – 60,000
GBP 45,000 (Hammer)
GBP 59,040 / USD 76,105

BANKSY (b.1974)
Choose Your Weapon (Bright Pink), 2010
Screenprint in pink and black on wove paper
Signed in pink pencil, numbered from the edition of 25 in red pencil

2024 Auction Results

Choose Your Weapon sold 3 times at auction in 2024. Choose Your Weapon (Blue) sold at Artcurial on 6 November 2024 for EUR 91,840 (USD 100,415). Choose Your Weapon (Light Orange) sold at SBI Art Auction on 6 July 2024 for JPY 12,650,000 (USD 80,599). Choose Your Weapon (Lemon) sold at Sotheby’s online on 20 March 2024 for GBP 50,800 (USD 64,426).

Choose Your Weapon (Blue), 2010

Artcurial: 6 November 2024
Estimated: EUR 70,000 – 90,000
EUR 91,840 / USD 100,415

Choose Your Weapon (Light Orange), 2010

SBI Art Auction: 6 July 2024
Estimated: JPY 10,000,000 – 15,000,000
JPY 12,650,000 / USD 80,599

BANKSY
Choose Your Weapon (Light Orange), 2010
Screenprint
Signed and numbered on the lower part
From the edition of 25

Choose Your Weapon (Lemon), 2010

Sotheby’s online: 20 March 2024
Estimated: GBP 40,000 – 60,000
GBP 50,800 / USD 64,426

BANKSY (b. 1974)
Choose Your Weapon (Lemon), 2010
Screenprint in colors on wove paper
Signed in yellow crayon and numbered 11/25

2023 Auction Results

Forum Auctions: 24 May 2023
Estimated: GBP 70,000 – 90,000
Hammer: GBP 63,000
GBP 84,420 / USD 104,402

BANKSY
Choose Your Weapon (Dark Orange), 2010
Screenprint in colors on wove paper
Signed in orange crayon, lower right
Numbered in pencil from the edition of 25, lower left

Sotheby’s online: 20 April 2023
Estimated: GBP 100,000 – 150,000
GBP 139,700 / USD 173,904

BANKSY
Choose Your Weapon – Dark Blue, 2010
Screenprint in colors on wove paper
Signed in blue crayon, inscribed ‘4 JAMMAL’
From an unreleased colorway that has not been published in a numbered edition

Forum Auctions: 22 February 2023
Estimated: GBP 150,000 – 200,000
GBP 184,920 / USD 227,452

BANKSY
Choose Your Weapon (VIP Gold), 2010
Screenprint in colors on wove paper
Signed in pink pencil, lower right
Numbered /25 with the publisher’s blindstamp

Forum Auctions: 31 January 2023
Estimated: GBP 75,000 – 100,000
Hammer: GBP 70,000
GBP 93,800 / USD 115,374

BANKSY
Choose Your Weapon (Bright Pink), 2010
Screenprint in colors on wove paper
Signed in yellow crayon, lower right
From the numbered edition of 25

2022 Auction Results

2021 Auction Results

Choose Your Weapon sold 14 times in 2021 for a total turnover of GBP 2,400,479 (USD 3,319,516), at an average price of GBP 171,463 (USD 237,108). The highest price and world auction record for the print was achieved by Choose Your Weapon (Fluoro Green) that sold at Sotheby’s online on 18 March 2021 for GBP 302,400 (USD 420,336).

2021 Auction Results

Forum Auctions: 14 December 2021
Estimated: GBP 100,000 – 150,000
GBP 170,180 / USD 229,743

BANKSY (b.1974)
Choose your weapon (Magenta) (Signed AP), 2010
Screenprint in colors on wove paper
Signed and inscribed ‘AP’ in pink pencil from the total edition of 58 comprising different colorways

Forum Auctions: 14 December 2021
Estimated: GBP 80,000 – 120,000
GBP 120,600 / USD 162,810

BANKSY (b.1974)
Choose your weapon (Cool Grey), 2010
Screenprint in colors on wove paper
Signed in grey crayon, numbered from the edition of 100 in pencil

Forum Auctions: 20 October 2021
Estimated: GBP 120,000 – 180,000
GBP 150,080 / USD 208,611

BANKSY (b.1974)
Choose your weapon (Red) (Signed AP), 2010
Screenprint in colors on wove paper
Signed and inscribed AP/44′ in red pencil from the total edition of 58 comprising different colorways

Sotheby’s online: 17 September 2021
Estimated: GBP 100,000 – 150,000
GBP 176,400 / USD 245,196

BANKSY (b. 1974)
Choose Your Weapon – Bright Pink, 2010
Screenprint in colors on wove paper
Signed in red crayon, numbered 23/25

Bonhams London: 29 June 2021
Estimated: GBP 100,000 – 150,000
GBP 175,250 / USD 242,399

Sotheby’s online: 18 March 2021
Estimated: GBP 40,000 – 60,000
GBP 302,400 / USD 420,336

BANKSY (b. 1974)
Choose Your Weapon (Fluoro Green), 2010
Screenprint in colors on wove paper
Signed in green crayon, numbered 8/25

Sotheby’s online: 18 March 2021
Estimated: GBP 30,000 – 50,000
GBP 201,600 / USD 280,224

BANKSY (b.1974)
Choose Your Weapon (Bright Purple), 2010
Screenprint in colors on wove paper
Signed and numbered from the edition of 25 in purple pencil