About Festival

Festival captures a gathering of people queued up to purchase a t-shirt featuring an anti-capitalist slogan. The line consists of both the young and the elderly, representing diverse subculture groups and serving as a microcosm of contemporary society. Banksy orchestrates the scene with a subtle paradox: those standing in line ostensibly supporting an anti-capitalist message are engaged in buying and spending, the very activities that propel capitalism's relentless cycle.

Broader context

The print offers a critical examination of the behavioural patterns ingrained in consumer society. Unable to enact a meaningful change, the individuals depicted in Banksy’s print succumb to the very processes they appear to condemn. The festival queue serves as both a reflection of societal hypocrisy and a manifestation of the lack of awareness stemming from society's immersion in the realm of commerce and mass-produced goods.

What’s unique about Festival

Created as part of Banksy’s renowned American exhibition, Barely Legal, hosted in a Los Angeles warehouse in 2006, Festival is part of Banksy’s Barely Legal Print Set. This collection includes six prints: Applause, Grannies, Morons, Trolleys, and Sale Ends, making Festival a distinctive piece within this iconic series.