Banksy’s 2009 painting of the United Kingdom Parliament was filled with chimpanzees.
The large oil painting, later titled Devolved Parliament, replaces the members of the House of Commons with chimpanzees. Banksy first presented it in 2009, and the work gained renewed attention when it was exhibited and sold a decade later.
The image satirizes parliamentary politics by using chimpanzees as stand-ins for politicians. Its title refers to devolution, the transfer of certain powers from the UK Parliament to legislatures in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, while also suggesting a breakdown in political seriousness.
The painting is sometimes misidentified as showing gorillas or monkeys in a general sense. The specific animals depicted are chimpanzees. This distinction matters because the work’s title and political satire are tied to the recognizable parliamentary scene rather than to an unnamed animal crowd.