Banksy – the famed street artist – has had a busy and productive summer with a series of animal-themed images around the capital.
It started with a goat in Kew, two elephants in Chelsea, and three monkeys in Brick Lane. Would four animals feature in his next work? No, it was back to a single wolf in Peckham, pelicans in Walthamstow, and a cat in Cricklewood.
Preserve
The City of London was the location for his seventh work – translucent swimming piranhas in a police sentry box (pictured). Following concerns about criminal damage however, it was barricaded off and subsequently moved to the Guildhall. The City of London Corporation is considering how best to preserve the artwork – a necessary action in light of vandalism to previous works. Indeed Banksy’s eighth piece – a rhino in Charlton – was brazenly defaced a short time after it appeared.
Safekeeping
His ninth work, at London Zoo, depicts a gorilla lifting a shutter seemingly to allow fellow animals to escape. This was later removed for “safekeeping” and to free up the full entrance area to the zoo.
