Banksy’s Festival (Destroy Capitalism), created in 2004, is one of his sharpest critiques of consumerism and the commodification of rebellion. The artwork shows a festival crowd queuing at a merchandise stall to buy T-shirts emblazoned with the slogan “Destroy Capitalism.”

Executed in his trademark stencil style, the piece is stark in black and white, with bold red shirts highlighting the irony: anti-capitalist slogans being mass-produced and sold within the very system they denounce. The scene, populated by young and alternative-looking figures, underscores the ease with which countercultural symbols are co-opted, sanitised, and repackaged as profitable commodities.

By placing the work in a music festival context, Banksy highlights how protest can swiftly become product. Festival (Destroy Capitalism) is more than a joke, it is a biting reflection on complicity, reminding viewers that even revolution can be branded, marketed, and sold back to those who once resisted.