my logic regarding the long-term, has and always will be, buy whatever you would still be in love with even if it were worthless. if it appreciates then great, if the arse falls out of it then ce la vie.

so long as you love it that's all that matters, i prefer the applause image but had to let mine go because it is so huge - no room unfortunetly.

once you've bought your next print make sure you get it framed up and show us some pics too.

good luck.

Virgin Mary is one of my favourite prints and THE favourite Banksy print I own.

It's definatly more of a classic because one: it's older than applause and two: it's a stencil and has pretty cool drips on it.

its you who has to live with it which do you prefer ? ;D ;D ;D

and if you have a better half i would let her chose as there are few people on here that have bought prints only to be told that aint going on the wall. ;D ;D ;D ;D

I have both and the toxic mary is a stunning piece

I'd go for the Mary...

"proper" Banksy political image... the classic drips, banksy tag and mary appearing outside of the borders are stunning Banksy touches in my eyes.

Only problem with investment is that alot of people frown apon the image or think its horrid, for this reason I think it will never appreciate as much as an Applause... espeically when the Americans get even more into Banksy.

Just my thoughts but the best os what has already been said.. Bu it coz you love it!

My money would be on Mary... esp coz you'll save enough for Half a love rat on the framing for Appluase!

I think they are both great, ;D

think applause is great image, message, concept, but also, technically a great print in terms of detail and the printing process,

however i think the simplicity of the Toxic Mary (again in terms of printing) wins it for me, i love it.

saying this i haven't had the privilege to see them in the flesh, so i may change my mind if i did.

I'd go with the Applause

If you want a long term investment, stick your money in the bank. If you want a print then Toxic Mary IMO is a classic, Applause for me is just too much of a Cut n Paste

Its intentional. The paper is a perfect rectangle, and the print is exactly as designed. Take a look at the deck hand holding the "applause" sign. You'll see a vertical line separating the darker right portion of the image from the lighter left portion of the image. The entire image is made as though it were cut outs that have been somewhat haphazardly taped or glued together. Imagine that these pictures had been printed in a newspaper,and somebody cut them out with scissors and then taped them back together. . . .

Its a killer print. When you see the detail up close it will make sense. In the meantime, you may want to visit the Banksy website, as there used to be a page showing the original Applause. I believe it was a concept in his "drawings" section. Been a while since I've been there myself, but maybe someone else can help fill in the blanks for us both.

thats my picture at the top. i demand reproduction royalty pounds now!!

How the hell do you do it Coreblimeylimey? You must have the whole internet stored in your brain!

And in colour

And here is the original canvas

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