Banksy has confirmed five new murals that appeared within a day of each other in London. Far-right riots in the U.K. have sparked online speculation about the meaning behind Banksy’s animal metaphors, as he is known for his political commentary.
Since the 1990s, Banksy‘s satirical street art and subversive epigrams have combined dark humor with graffiti. His works of political and social commentary have appeared on streets, walls, and bridges in the world. The Bristol artist drew a controversial stunt at Glastonbury Festival in June, which saw a small migrant boat crowd surfing during the indie punk band Idles and Little Simz performance.
On August 5 (Monday), a new artwork was revealed featuring a mountain goat on the side of a house in Kew Bridge, Richmond. The goat appears limping atop a protruding ledge, with rocks appearing to fall from its perch. A surveillance camera is angled upwards to monitor the unstable goat.
Multiple commenters suggested that the work was likely a response to the violent race riots that have occurred across the UK following a tragic stabbing attack at a dance class in Southport last Monday, which resulted in the deaths of three girls.
On Tuesday, the second work was revealed in Chelsea. It shows two elephants leaning in from behind obscured windows, extending their trunks in a captivating yet amicable gesture.
The friendly elephants may not necessarily present a more hopeful image than the imperiled goat. @leesajoanniverson believed their pose could be a representation of individualized and distanced families.
On Wednesday morning, three swinging monkeys emerged on a railway bridge on Brick Lane, East London. Later on that day, thousands took to the streets in Walthamstow for a counter-protest against far-right groups targeting mosques and asylum seekers.
On Thursday, a silhouette of a howling wolf appeared on a satellite dish in Peckham, in southeast London. The work got removed by a group in balaclavas just hours later.
Lastly, on Friday morning, the silhouette of two pelicans, one eating a fish, appeared above a fish bar in Walthamstow, northeast London.
Besides the growing attention, it is likely that the Banksy murals in London will need extra protection. In March, shortly after a Banksy mural depicting a life-size woman holding a pressure washer next to green paint in the shape of a tree’s leaves was unveiled in the northern part of the city, it was defaced with white paint. The proprietor of the building later covered it with plastic sheets and wooden boards.
