'Fight the fighters, not their wars.' —Banksy
Banksy’s Happy Chopper first appeared in 2002 as a spray-painted mural in London’s Whitecross Street Market. The image has since become a recurring theme for Banksy and used in various anti-war protests. At the time, the United States and Britain were preparing for a war with Iraq, a conflict subject to much debate: accusations were made that Iraq’s oil supply was the focus of the coalition military and not the fight for democracy as the western public were led to believe.
Depicting a squadron of armed Apache helicopters, in Happy Choppers, three foreboding heavy aircraft emerge from the clouds, forming an intimidating approach. A baby pink bow, attached to the leading aircrafts apex, disarms the viewer – a symbol of childhood innocence does not belong on a war machine. The contrast of the menacing choppers surrounded by sunny blue skies and cartoon-like clouds hints at the idea of ‘boys playing soldiers’ or ‘men playing war’.
Banksy utilizes the innocence and moral virtue associated with children to turn a mirror on society, foregrounding its faults and injustices. Frequently combining images of childhood, and its closely connected notions of both purity and nostalgia, with somber and despondent themes of war, political division, and mass-surveillance, the artist evokes an increasingly powerful and provocative message. In Happer Chopper not only does the artist highlight the unnecessary losses of innocence in wartime but mocks the masculinity of militarism.