Ape Rule

In Ape Rule, Steve Lazarides captures one of Banksy’s most infamous creations: a monkey wearing a sandwich board inscribed with the sardonic phrase, “Laugh now, but one day we’ll be in charge.” First appearing in 2003 as part of a wider series of socially charged stencils, the image has since become emblematic of Banksy’s biting social commentary.

Photographed in its original placement by Lazarides, Banksy’s original photographer, agent, and close collaborator, the work distills the raw immediacy and confrontational humour that defined the artist’s early street presence.

Ape Rule exemplifies Lazarides’s role as custodian of Banksy’s legacy, offering collectors the chance to own not just an image of Banksy’s art, but a rare document of the world in which it lived. With much of Banksy’s early street work now vanished, the photograph endures as an artwork in its own right, preserving the urgency, wit, and cultural resonance of a movement at its ascent.