Jack and Jill (Police Kids)

Screenprint in colours, 2005, numbered edition 21/350, on wove paper, printed and published by Pictures on

Walls, London, with their blindstamp at lower left, with full margins, sheet 50 x 70 cm.

Jack and Jill, named after a traditional English nursery rhyme, also referred to as Police Kids, was released as a limited edition of 350 prints in 2005. Unlike most of Banksy’s works, Jack and Jill was never painted in the street and came only as a screen print. The work combines Banksy’s classic spray-paint and stencilling techniques with humour and a sense of ironic social commentary on today’s society.
Painted on a blocked sky blue background Jack and Jill portrays two children running gleefully through water and towards the viewer. Both characters are dressed for summer, bare legs and arms, and they have smiles on their faces. The young girl is holding a basket of flowers and at first glance it seems as if both run together in what appears to be a beautiful sunny afternoon in the countryside, carefree and innocent. Except that the two children are wearing bulletproof vest with the word ‘Police’ written in capital letters across their chests. Banksy uses children in bulletproof police vests to contrast the supposed freedom and innocence of childhood, commenting on the way law enforcement is restricting people’s freedom.