{"id":7196,"date":"2025-05-09T12:58:14","date_gmt":"2025-05-09T09:58:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/theworldofbanksy.de\/multimediaguide\/?post_type=portfolios&p=7196"},"modified":"2026-01-08T11:49:48","modified_gmt":"2026-01-08T08:49:48","slug":"choose-your-weapon","status":"publish","type":"portfolios","link":"https:\/\/theworldofbanksy.de\/multimediaguide\/en\/portfolios\/choose-your-weapon\/","title":{"rendered":"Choose Your Weapon"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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Choose Your Weapon<\/h1>\r\n

Southwark, London, England, 2010<\/p>\r\n <\/div>\r\n <\/div>\r\n\r\n \r\n \r\n \r\n <\/section>\r\n\r\n \t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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Emerging in 2010 on the wall of The Grange Pub in London\u2019s Southwark, Choose Your Weapon is an iconic mural offering a critique of peace, resistance, and the power of street art.

The artwork depicts a hooded and masked young man holding Keith Haring\u2019s famous \u201cbarking dog\u201d figure on a leash. The hooded and masked young man, a recurring figure in Banksy\u2019s work, represents marginalized youth and the \u201cdisaffected youth\u201d culture in the UK. The dog, drawn in Haring\u2019s characteristic cartoonish style with a flat silhouette and bold black outlines, adds a playful element.

The \u201cbarking dog\u201d is a tribute to Keith Haring\u2019s motif, which became popular in 1980s New York. Haring\u2019s dog was a symbol of resistance against authoritarian regimes and power abuse. Banksy uses this motif to ironically reference the trend of youth gangs using aggressive dogs as weapons; however, the dog\u2019s cartoonish appearance highlights art as an alternative \u201cweapon\u201d to violence. Referencing the proverb \u201cThe pen is mightier than the sword,\u201d Banksy advocates graffiti as the most effective tool against social injustice.

With the title Choose Your Weapon, Banksy directly poses a question to the viewer: \u201cWhat is your weapon, and what will you choose to fight for with it?\u201d The piece invites viewers to choose peace and art over violence, while emphasizing the marginalization of youth culture and the spirit of resistance in street art.

In 2010, the UK saw widespread media coverage of youth gangs and the use of aggressive dogs as \u201cweapons,\u201d fueling discussions, particularly around the stigmatization and exclusion of young people in low-income areas. Southwark, with its mix of affluent gated communities and low-income neighborhoods, reflects the contradictions of urban conditions.

The mural was also released in 2010 as a limited-edition print; 25 colored and 100 gray prints were produced in 15 different color variations. On the release day, fights broke out among fans queuing at Pictures on Walls, underscoring the artwork\u2019s popularity.<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"featured_media":7198,"template":"","portfolios_categories":[85],"class_list":["post-7196","portfolios","type-portfolios","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","portfolios_categories-en"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/theworldofbanksy.de\/multimediaguide\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/portfolios\/7196","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/theworldofbanksy.de\/multimediaguide\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/portfolios"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/theworldofbanksy.de\/multimediaguide\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/portfolios"}],"version-history":[{"count":14,"href":"https:\/\/theworldofbanksy.de\/multimediaguide\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/portfolios\/7196\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8674,"href":"https:\/\/theworldofbanksy.de\/multimediaguide\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/portfolios\/7196\/revisions\/8674"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theworldofbanksy.de\/multimediaguide\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7198"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/theworldofbanksy.de\/multimediaguide\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7196"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"portfolios_categories","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theworldofbanksy.de\/multimediaguide\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/portfolios_categories?post=7196"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}