Banksy unveils third mural in three days in London
The iconic street artist Banksy has revealed yet another mural in London on August 7th, making it the third piece of artwork to pop up in the capital in just three days. The new piece shows three monkeys swinging across a bridge in the east part of the city.
The mural is located on an overground bridge near Brick Lane and Shoreditch High Street. As always when it comes to Banksy, there had been some questions about whether or not it could truly be identified as belonging to the infamous artist, but it has since been proved to be authentic.
Following speculation, Banksy later confirmed it as his own via a post on his Instagram account. The monkeys are the third Banksy piece to appear in London this year, following a black mountain goat cropping up on a wall structure that faces a CCTV camera near Kew Bridge.
The second Banksy arrived on two blocked-out windows in Chelsea and depicted two elephants facing one another, reaching out with their trunks. Banksy has not posted any captions or comments with his Instagram posts, so the meaning behind the new artworks are open to interpretation.
Earlier this year, a Banksy painting in north London was defaced with white paint, leading to the owner of the building it was painted on installing plastic sheets and wooden boards to protect it. The thinking is that the new Banksy pieces in London might need similar protection.
Meanwhile, Banksy recently pulled a stunt at Glastonbury festival, which led to complaints from many. He later responded to the criticism he faced surrounding his artwork, focusing on the migrant boat crisis. The artwork depicted an inflatable lifeboat holding dummies that surfed over the crowd while Idles headlined the Other Stage, unbeknownst to the Bristolian band.
Following the stunt, Conservative MP James Cleverly, who is now running to be party leader, accused Banksy of mocking the criminal actions of the migrant, which prompted the artist to fire back, pointing out the importance of looking after migrants looking to arrive from France.
“The real boat I fund, the MV Louise Michel, rescued 17 unaccompanied children from the Central Med on Monday night,” he explained. “As punishment, the Italian authorities have detained it – which seems vile and unacceptable to me.”
“This political game played with people seeking safety needs to end immediately,” Banksy added. “No one should be left at sea. Everyone has the right to a safe place. And nobody’s safety should be compromised for political games or strategies!”
After three pieces of art arrived on London’s streets in consecutive days, it remains to be seen whether more will appear over the rest of the week, and the ultimate message that Banksy is attempting to send.
