A goat, two elephants, three monkeys and now a howling wolf: British street artist Banksy thrilled his fans in London on Thursday with the installation of his fourth new work of art this week.
The animal-print collection has sparked speculation about its message. Is it criticism of the far-right riots in England, or perhaps support for the Palestinians? Perhaps they are referring to global warming or even the Olympics?
As usual, the enigmatic artist offered no explanation when claiming them on Instagram. What’s unusual is how quickly they appeared – Banksy’s works usually appear several months apart.
On Monday, an image of a goat perched precariously on a wall with stones falling from it appeared in Richmond, southwest London.
“I believe it is actually a mountain gazelle from Palestine. So I believe the work has something to do with Palestine,” said 60-year-old artist Daniel Lloyd-Morgan.
Then on Tuesday, two elephant silhouettes with their trunks stretched out towards each other appeared in Chelsea, southwest London.
On Wednesday, the black silhouette of three monkeys appeared on the side of a railway bridge, as if they were swinging.
“Banksy is trying to make us think and reflect on the ecological crisis that really threatens humanity,” said university professor Fawaz Gerges as he admired the latest work.
“His focus seems to be on animals, trees and oceans, and that’s been an overarching theme for him over the last few months,” he added.
On Thursday, Banksy added a howling wolf to his collection. The wolf was painted on a satellite dish in Peckham, cleverly transforming the dish into a full moon.
The artworks appear at a time when England is rocked by violent far-right, anti-immigration protests over the murder of three girls. Protesters have attacked hotels housing asylum seekers.
Banksy, whose identity is unknown, has repeatedly expressed compassion for the plight of refugees.
At the Glastonbury music festival last month, the artist launched a dinghy depicting dummy migrants wearing life jackets over the crowd. – AFP