Banksy Laugh Now, 2003

An underdog with the last word. Banksy's Laugh Now pairs a downcast chimpanzee with a message that hints at a very different future. The lowered head and rounded shoulders draw your sympathy, while the sign gives this spare black-and-white image its defiant humour.

The work draws its tension from that mismatch. The figure appears subdued, but its words imagine a future in which the balance of power has changed. A plain background and strong black stencil leave little to distract from the expression and the sign.

This is a print for a room with a sense of humour and an appetite for conversation. It works with black-and-white photography, graphic posters or dark timber furniture. Choose a scale that lets the lettering be read comfortably, since the relationship between image and words is central to the piece.