Welcome To Hell, 2004
Editions: 75 signed, 175 unsigned
Welcome To Hell is part of the Placard Rat series, a trilogy of three screen prints released in 2004 featuring the artist’s iconic rat holding up a placard bearing the work’s title.
The two other prints are Get Out While You Can and Because I’m Worthless.
The inspiration behind the series comes from “Get Out While You Can” by author George Marshall, a book explaining how to find a way out of “salary slavery” or “rat race”. A number of variations of the Placard Rat were painted by Banksy in the streets of London as well as many other rats, leading to the rodent becoming a signature motif, or even alter ego, for the artist. Placard Rat was first seen on Chiswell Street in London, accompanied by the words “London Doesn’t Work.”
Welcome To Hell (Pink), 2004
Welcome To Hell portrays a rat standing up on two feet, like a human, and holding up a placard reading “Welcome To Hell” in bright red or pink writing. The rat, wearing a necklace bearing a peace sign, is seemingly engaged in a form of social protest as well as a warning of a danger still to come. The violence of the message is contrasted by the peace sign around the rat’s neck in a complex double meaning, characteristic of Banksy’s work. The sign, in bright red splattered paint inevitably reminds the viewer of blood. Welcome to Hell clearly stands for Banksy’s position on law enforcement, militarism, capitalism and consumerism, with a clear warning against modern life in the over-surveilled city.
Pest Modernism
Banksy, Cut It Out, December 2004
By giving the figure of the rat a voice Banksy is speaking for those oppressed and defeated by capitalism and consumerism with a warning against modern life in the over-surveilled city.
Obviously, Banksy also sees something of himself in his rat character as an artist who works under the radar, operating largely at night, and is considered by much of society to be a pest.
Rats are one of Banksy’s greatest sources of inspiration and one of the most prolific subjects in his work. An anagram of “ART”, the rat is an allegorical tool used by Banksy to reveal the vices and flaws of the human race.
The symbol of the rat is also closely associated with Banksy himself. Hunted down by the authorities, rats, like graffiti artists, tend to appear by night under the cover of darkness, and considered by much of society to be a pest (at least up to a few years ago…). By giving the figure of the rat a voice Banksy is speaking for those oppressed and defeated by the endless competition and consumerism of late capitalism.
DESCRIPTION
Welcome To Hell
Year: 2004
Medium: Screen-print in colors on wove paper
Size: 50×35 cm (19 1/2 x 13 1/2 inches)
Publisher: Pictures on Walls
Editions
Signed Edition: 75
Unsigned Edition: 175
Some in red, some in pink (exact counts not specified)
AUCTION RESULTS
Updated as of 30 June 2022
1. Welcome to Hell (unsigned)
Welcome to Hell (unsigned) only sold 7 times at auction since 2008, including twice in 2021. It has not sold at auction so far in 2022 as of 30 June 2022.
Welcome To Hell (unsigned), 2004
Numbered XXX/175 in pencil
Tate Ward Auctions, 29 September 2021
GBP 35,000 / USD 48,650
2. Welcome to Hell (signed)
Welcome to Hell (signed) sold at Sotheby’s online on 26 April 2022 for GBP 94,500 (USD 119,070). It sold three times at auction in 2021, and three times in 2020.
Welcome To Hell (signed), 2004
Signed and dated in pencil, lower left
Numbered 49/75 in pencil with the publisher’s blindstamp, lower right
Sotheby’s online, 26 April 2022
GBP 94,500 / USD 119,070
Welcome To Hell (signed), 2004
Signed and dated in pencil, lower left
Numbered 61/75 in pencil with the publisher’s blindstamp, lower right
Sotheby’s London, 26 May 2021
GBP 63,000 / USD 89,400
Welcome To Hell (signed), 2004
Signed and dated in pencil, lower left
Numbered 42/75 in pencil with the publisher’s blindstamp, lower right
Bonhams London, 25 February 2021
GBP 94,000 / USD 132,712
Welcome To Hell (signed), 2004
Signed and dated in pencil, lower left
Numbered 42/75 in pencil with the publisher’s blindstamp, lower right
Sotheby’s online, 18 September 2020
GBP 63,000 / USD 81,900
