Banksy’s new work was discovered on Tuesday, August 13, at one of the entrance gates to London Zoo (Stefan Rousseau/PA via AP)
On the tenth day, after creating the mountain goat, elephants, pelicans, a rhinoceros and a gorilla, among other animals, Banksy rested. The elusive animal collection of the street artist who appeared in London during nine consecutive days seemingly came to an end after one last mural shocked staff who arrived early to feed the animals at London Zoo on Tuesday.
Nothing new was posted on the artist’s website or Instagram page on Wednesday, where his avid fans often learn about his recent work. Those who live close enough often rush out to see him and take photos, sometimes before he can be taken away.
The zoo mural, which depicts a gorilla lifting the front gate as birds take flight, a sea lion waddles away and three pairs of eyes peer out from the darkness within, was the latest in a series, the BBC reported.
Bansky’s eighth animal artwork, discovered on Monday, August 12 (Photo: REUTERS/Mina Kim)
Fans of the artist, whose real identity remains unknown, continue to debate online the meaning of the paintings. Some suggested the animals represented people and that the murals spoke of the war between Israel and Palestine. Others said they referred to the recent riots in Britain, blamed on the far right.
According to some, Banksyknown for championing human and animal rights, might be suggesting that the creatures needed to be freed from their imprisonment. Others allude to a more innocent whim: the final painting was the big reveal of where all those other animals came from.
Jasper TordoffBanksy expert from the platform MyArtBrokersaid that as the number of animals successively multiplied from one to two to three in the early works, the theory arose that the artist was creating a Noah’s Ark which mirrored his earlier religious satire. But that theory went out the window when the fourth work was a lone wolf that “came out of nowhere,” he said.
Banksy’s art is often strongly political, and Tordoff says these recent murals, created using stencils and spray paint, are ingenious but simple works which are meant to be fun. The artist’s company told the newspaper The Observer that the series intended to contribute something of Joy in a period of gloomy news.
Banksy’s elephants, the Tuesday 6th August artwork in the London neighbourhood of Fulham (REUTERS/Mina Kim)
But Tordoff said the enigmatic street artist may be making a comment on human nature and the desire for possessions, as at least one of the works has been stolen and others moved for preservation. “We are in this pantomime. In a way, we are part of this installation,” Tordoff said. “Certainly, Banksy I knew that all of this would be covered with photographs and CCTV footage of how the public would react, and that may be part of it, because in my opinion it was just as entertaining.”
Here’s a look at the nine works, mostly painted as silhouettes:
– August 5: a mountain goat perched on a narrow buttress of a building and looking down as crumbling rocks appear to fall in West London.
– August 6: Two elephants Painted on boarded-up windows on the side of a terraced house in Chelsea, they face each other and extend their trunks. Followers on Instagram suggest they are the proverbial “elephants in the room”, which can’t be ignored but which no one wants to talk about.
The “London Zoo” series began on Monday, August 5, with the image of a goat about to fall into the void (REUTERS/Toby Melville)
– August 7: three monkeys They swing and hang from the side of a railway bridge in east London. Some fans say they represent the wise monkeys of ancient Japan who see no evil, hear no evil and speak no evil.
– August 8: a wolf A solitary howling on a satellite dish breaks up what appeared to be an ascending sequence of animals. The dish art was short-lived, as masked men appeared with a ladder and climbed onto the roof above a shop window in south London, removed it and fled.
– August 9: two pelicans The birds were seen perched on the sign of a fish and chip shop in north-east London. One of the birds has its beak pointing upwards and is scooping up a fish in its large mouth, while the second appears to be plucking a fish from the sign. The owners of the shop, which will remain closed until September, said on Instagram that they were “delighted” that Banksy decorated their shop. “Contrary to some beliefs, we didn’t ask him to do this, but we are very grateful that he did!” wrote Bonners Fish Bar.
A Banksy fish artwork, which appeared on a police box in the City of London, is cordoned off in London, Monday, August 12, 2024. (HENRY NICHOLLS / AFP)
– August 10: A big cat stretches across a crumbling plywood sign in north London. Crowds who had gathered to see it boo as contractors arrive to remove it for safety reasons.
– August 11: The windows of a small police guardhouse are painted with a school of piranhas tumbling around to resemble a fish tank. This is the only work in the series painted in colour. The sentry box near the Old Bailey criminal court was brought to the corporate offices in the City of London for safekeeping, a spokesman said. It will eventually be placed where it can be seen by the public.
The silhouette of a black cat on a fence in Cricklewood catches the eye (REUTERS/Maja Smiejkowska)
– August 12: A rhinoceros painted on a brick wall appeared to be riding a small Nissan car parked in front of it on the sidewalk. The rhino was later tagged with graffiti and the car was removed.
– August 13: The zoo mural with a gorilla The painting was discovered early Tuesday morning, said Dan Simmonds, the zoo’s head of animal operations. “I’ve been working here for about 20 years, and this definitely takes the prize for the most surprising arrival in my job,” he said. “It was a big surprise for me. But actually for all of London, actually for the whole world.” A day later, cyclists and joggers stopped to take selfies and photos of the painting, which was behind barriers, protected by an acrylic shield and watched over by three security guards.
Source: AP
