Banksy unveils seventh animal-themed work in a week in City of London
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Banksy's newest offering turns a sentry box’s glass windows into what looks like a giant fish tank.
PHOTO: EPA-EFE
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LONDON – Banksy on Aug 11 unveiled a new work of art in London, depicting a shoal of fish on a police sentry box, his seventh animal-themed piece to surface in the British capital over the last week.
The series created by the elusive street artist has sparked a frenzy of media interest and questions over its meaning.
Banksy – whose identity is publicly unknown and the subject of feverish speculation – confirmed on Instagram that the latest work to appear overnight, in the City of London financial district, was his own.
Prior to Aug 11, they had all been dark silhouette images – of a goat, elephants, monkeys, a wolf, pelicans and a cat.
But the newest offering appears to have been made using translucent spray paint on the sentry box’s glass windows, turning it into what looks like a giant fish tank.
Two police officers could be seen examining the design and taking pictures of it.
“We are aware of criminal damage to a City of London Police box in Ludgate Hill,” said Detective Chief Inspector Andy Spooner in a statement.
He noted the police were “liaising” with the local authority who owns the sentry box.
Two of the seven works that have appeared since Aug 5 are no longer visible, after one depicting a wolf on a satellite dish was stolen less than an hour after it was unveiled in south-east London on Aug 8.
Then on Aug 10, a piece crafted on an empty, distressed advertising billboard – showing a stretching cat – was removed from its location in north-west London by contractors, citing safety reasons.
A Banksy piece showing a stretching cat was removed from its location in north-west London by contractors, citing safety reasons.
PHOTO: AFP
Several months usually pass between new Banksy works of art and this week’s daily unveilings have sparked speculation in the media and among fans about what they could mean.
The Observer newspaper reported late on Aug 10 that they were designed to “cheer up the public” during a tumultuous week in Britain marked by violent disorder on the streets of various towns and cities.
“Some recent theorising about the deeper significance of each new image has been way too involved, Banksy’s support organisation, Pest Control Office, has indicated,” the Sunday newspaper said. AFP
