Banksy has been let loose on London this week, unveiling a new work every day.
On Monday, August 5th, a graffiti silhouette of a goat appeared on the side of a building near the south bank of the Thames in Richmond. Banksy’s Instagram page posted an image of the work with no caption, leaving many to speculate on its meaning. One of the most popular interpretations is that the goat carefully standing on a cliff as small rocks fall off the edge represents Britain’s precarious position as riots by far-right demonstrators have rocked the country recently. Others say that the goat represents humanity at the edge of a precipice, pushed by conflict, political turmoil, and climate change. Interviews with locals indicate that they are pleased with the silhouette, a sentiment shared by many who have seen the work. It was the first graffiti work by Banksy since March when a mural in the north London neighborhood of Finsbury Park was unveiled and later covered up.
The following day, Banksy struck again, this time with another unexpected animal silhouette. The image of two elephants reaching across and joining trunks from a pair of blocked-out windows was a surprise to the people of Chelsea. Then, on Wednesday, more animals appeared, this time on the east side of London. On a bridge over Brick Lane, a trio of monkeys appeared. Like the goat, the elephants and monkeys appeared on the artist’s Instagram page without any caption, title, or explanation. Despite my initial expectations, the monkeys on the bridge are not covering their respective eyes, ears, and mouth. They appear rather naturalistic, swinging and brachiating from a crease in the concrete.
Things seemed to go smoothly until Thursday when Banksy’s fourth animal got into trouble. A howling wolf stenciled in the middle of a fake satellite dish appeared on the roof of a building in Peckham in southeast London. By this point, commenters have begun to call the project Banksy’s London Zoo series. The wolf breaks the pattern that seems to be emerging or adding one more figure to each group. With one goat, two elephants, and three monkeys, many anticipated four wolves instead of just one. However, not long after the wolf was unveiled, reports came in that the dish, which seems to have been purpose-built and erected for the work, had been removed from the roof. BBC News published a video showing a trio of men taking the dish and running away.
Anticipation was high for Banksy’s next move as Friday dawned. Many predicted another work to be revealed on Friday. However, some, like Arts University Bournemouth vice-chancellor Paul Gough, expected a larger, grander finale to this series. In the end, Banksy presented us with another animal silhouette: a pair of pelicans appropriately perched on the sign of a fish-and-chip shop in the north London borough of Walthamstow. One of the pelicans is stenciled bending down to snatch up one of the fish on the shop’s sign. No one is certain about the message behind the series if there is one at all. In the past, Banksy has often imbued his work with political and social commentary, hence the search for deeper meaning in these animals. It’s also not certain whether the series stops here. Though the week is over, there may be more animals appearing throughout London in the near future.