Art Story

Laugh Now features a melancholic monkey, clad in a sandwich board that suggests its oppression or enslavement. The monkey, along with the rat, is one of Banksy's most recurring animal motifs, used to satirize human nature.
This piece can be interpreted in multiple ways. It critiques the way humans treat animals, particularly our primate relatives, whether through poaching, exploitation for entertainment, or their use in medical experiments. The ominous message on the sandwich board combines both mockery and menace, almost as if suggesting an impending revolt - a warning of a coming revolution. Additionally, the artwork subtly engages with Darwin's theory of evolution, blending dark humor with a more profound reflection on humanity's place in the natural world.
Originally commissioned in 2002 by the Ocean Rooms Nightclub on Morley Street in Brighton, Laugh Now was a six-meter-long spray-painted mural, featuring the monkey repeated ten times to create a striking visual backdrop for the bar.