On day four of Banksy’s London animal series, the street artist has unveiled a new piece: a howling wolf. Within hours, it’s been stolen.
In his fourth consecutive artwork this week, anonymous Bristol-born street artist Banksy has just unveiled a howling wolf on top of a building in Peckham, south-east London.
The stencilled silhouette of the wolf is painted onto a satellite dish, cleverly transforming it into a full moon.
However, within a few hours of its debut, the artwork has been removed by two masked individuals who scaled a ladder to retrieve the satellite dish.
Photos shared online show a man in a black hoodie, blue tracksuit bottoms, a mask, and gloves, carrying the artwork under his arm as he makes his escape.
Banksy’s animal-themed saga began on Monday 5 August. The artist presented the first work of the animal series near Kew Bridge in southwest London. The piece, created in his signature stencil style, depicts a goat with rocks tumbling below it.
Following the first work, Banksy posted an image of another animal artwork on his Instagram page the next day. This time, located in Chelsea, it featured two elephants looking out at each other from blocked-out windows, their trunks almost touching.
Then came, three swinging monkeys across a railway bridge in Brick Lane, East London.
Euronews Culture spoke with a nearby shopkeeper who claimed they saw three men pull up to the spot the evening before in high-vis jackets. Using a cherry picker, they reached the vantage point and completed the work.
What’s the meaning behind Banksy’s ongoing London zoo series?
While the elusive artist, infamous for his political commentary, has not provided an explanation to the recent series of works, many online have been speculating.
In light of the recent and ongoing far-right riots in the UK, one popular theory suggests that Banksy is critiquing the wild and chaotic behavior currently erupting, drawing a parallel between people’s actions and wild zoo animals.
“The goat’s precarious position on the edge mirrors the fragile state of UK society, teetering on the brink of chaos due to the recent disturbances,” suggested one user on Instagram.
Another wrote, in reference to Banksy’s elephant piece: “Walking by and ignoring ‘the elephant in the room’… Perfect representation of the UK right now.”
An equally popular theory suggests that it could be a comment on climate change and how urbanisation is driving animals out of cities. “We have forced these gorgeous animals to live in a concrete jungle. We seriously suck. We had one job. Keep Mother Earth safe and alive” says one commenter.
Another commenter wrote in response to Banksy’s latest wolf post: “There’s definitely a sense that including the people in all these pics is giving off a sense of ignorance to the wild around them?”
Whether he’s highlighting political chaos or critiquing urban sprawl, Banksy’s animal antics have certainly got people talking.
As we can expect the series to most likely conclude at the end of the week, the question is: What animals will come next?
Source: Euro News
