“My Wife Hates it When I Work From Home”—Banksy reveals his latest work featuring rats running riot in a bathroom.
The illustrious street artist is in lockdown just like the rest of us. With his concrete canvas out of reach, Bansky has turned to a more intimate setting to showcase his unparalleled genius—a bathroom.
Many of us are at home teaching our pets how to clear toilet paper towers as though we’re gearing up for the “Quarantine Olympics”. Meanwhile, Banksy has reimagined a whole new world of domestic street art, which he debuted in an Instagram post.
The post caption reads: “My wife hates it when I work from home.” Which is fair enough.
Although, if this is, in fact, his own bathroom, she could just be mildly concerned about the walls falling prey to another Sotheby’s auction.
This new masterpiece depicts his iconic rat figures wreaking havoc as they turn the bathroom into their playground. Using strategic placement, he creates a dynamic interplay between the characters and the various bathroom objects.
Rats have been a recurring theme in Banksy’s work, the symbol denotes the dual nature of the creature. On the one hand, they represent the vermin of society, cunning residents that invade cities by night. On the other hand, they are the smart survivors that will inevitably prevail in any given circumstances.
One rat is swinging from a towel ring using Colgate toothpaste to cushion his landing, another treads on a roll of toilet paper as it cascades off the shelf, while one seems to be mischievously tipping over an entire soap container.
Among the more notable characters is a rat casually urinating against the lid of the toilet. Another is cleverly captured in a mirror reflection counting down the days like a prisoner. Of course, all of these scenarios have obvious parallels to the current situation we find ourselves in.
Even in confinement, Banksy manages to create sociopolitical commentary that resonates with the masses, proving his virtuosity once again.
Featured image: Banksy