Queen as Ziggy Stardust appeared in 2012 on a wall in Upper Maudlin Street during the Queen’s Jubilee.

The main figure of the work is Queen Elizabeth II, but her face has been transformed with David Bowie’s Ziggy Stardust red lightning-bolt makeup. Royal dignity is distorted by rock-star rebellion; vivid red and black accents create a dramatic effect.

Banksy inverts the official royal portrait: by dressing the Queen in Bowie’s 1972 Ziggy Stardust alter ego, he blends the unchanging nature of monarchy with the radical icons of pop culture. The Queen is turned into ‘stardust’ with glam-rock makeup, a satirical nod to the Jubilee celebrations.

Banksy questions the outdatedness of monarchy and cultural change; as the Queen becomes Ziggy, he mocks the corruption of traditional institutions by pop culture. The lightning-bolt makeup evokes Bowie’s gender and identity questioning, thus satirising the ‘fixed’ image of royalty; the work equates Britain’s imperialist legacy with modern consumerism, highlighting the absurdity of elitism.

Banksy employs stencil technique with minimalist contrast and pop-art effect. The contrast between the Queen’s noble posture and the rebellious brightness of the makeup intensifies the visual irony. Critics describe the work as ‘a satire of monarchy’. The Telegraph praised it as ‘the Queen’s glam transformation, Banksy’s most ingenious cultural collision’.

After Bowie’s death Banksy produced a commemorative edition of the work and donated the proceeds to charity.