London-based anonymous street artist, Banksy, has recently unveiled his seventh piece of artwork on a police box in the British capital. The image portrays a vibrant fish swimming across the glass front of the police box on Ludgate Hill. In an Instagram post showcasing the new artwork, Banksy announced that a total of seven animal-inspired pieces have appeared across London within a week, all of which have been claimed by the Bristol-born artist.
The first piece – a stencilled goat mural – appeared on Monday, August 5th, near The Old Bailey and St Paul’s Cathedral. The following day, two elephants were spotted near windows in Chelsea, which was then followed by three monkeys swinging from a bridge in Shoreditch on Wednesday. On Thursday, a wolf howling at the moon from a satellite dish in Peckham was nearly immediately stolen. On Friday, two pelicans were illustrated outside a Walthamstow fish and chip shop eating fish. Finally, a stretching cat appeared on a wooden advertising hoarding on Edgware Road the day before the latest work.
This latest piece of artwork is different from Banksy’s previous work in that it does not feature the artist’s iconic black silhouette images. The police have released a statement saying that while they were aware of the vandalism to the box, they were investigating the crime alongside the City of London Corporation, the owner of the police box. The governing body of the City of London has also publicly released a statement saying that they are currently working to decide how best to preserve the artwork.
According to Banksy’s support organisation, Pest Control Office, the artist intends for these animal-inspired artworks to bring cheer to the public during a time of unrest in the country. During this time, the UK has been subjected to far-right riots. The seven artworks’ uplifting themes aim to bring moments of joy and amusement with a focus on humans’ ability to be creative instead of choosing destruction. Reports suggest that the public can expect more new works in the series over the upcoming days.
This latest artwork follows Banksy’s recent politically-motivated artwork at Glastonbury, where the artist launched a dummy-filled immigrant boat into a crowd during the IDLES’ set on the Other Stage. The stunt was a visual reference to the current migrant crisis and was criticised by Home Secretary James Cleverly, who called it “vile”. In response, Banksy said, “The Homeland Security called my Glastonbury boat ‘vile and unacceptable’ which seemed a bit over the top. The real boat I fund, the MV Louise Michael rescued 17 unaccompanied children from the central med on Monday night. As punishment, the Italian authorities have detained it – which seems vile and unacceptable to me.”
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