Released in 2005, Banksy’s Soup Can series reimagines Andy Warhol’s legendary Campbell’s Soup Cans of 1962, paying homage while offering a distinctly British twist. Where Warhol elevated the familiar American Campbell’s label into a Pop icon, Banksy replaces it with Tesco’s Value range, Britain’s budget supermarket line, subverting the glamour of Pop Art with the stark reality of economic austerity.

The first Soup Can prints were published by Pictures on Walls in 2005 in the original Tesco blue, red, and white colourway: an edition of 50 signed and 250 unsigned prints. Much like Warhol’s various soup flavours, Banksy extended the motif into multiple interpretations. In his case, these took the form of 28 Pop colourways, each issued in an edition of 10 signed prints, resulting in 280 unique signed works in addition to the main edition. This expansive release reinforces the tension between mass production and exclusivity that underpins both Warhol’s and Banksy’s practice.

The total edition therefore includes 300 prints in the main Tesco blue/red/white version (50 signed, 250 unsigned), alongside the 280 signed colourway prints, making the series a landmark exploration of Pop Art updated for the 21st century.

Soup Can stands as one of only two direct references Banksy makes to Andy Warhol, the other being Kate, a modern reworking of Warhol’s Marilyn Monroe that substitutes supermodel Kate Moss, satirising the cult of celebrity.