Banksy has unveiled his ninth animal mural in London in as many days. At the entrance of London Zoo in Regent’s Park, a gorilla furtively lifts a curtain, allowing all manner of creatures, including a seal and a small flock of birds, to escape.
Did this same guerrilla gorilla let loose on London a goat, two elephants, three monkeys, a wolf, two pelicans, a big cat, a school of piranhas, and a particularly racy rhino? These are the wild beasts that have appeared across the U.K. capital in recent days and been claimed by Banksy on his Instagram.
Today’s latest vignette seems like a fitting explanation for the anonymous street artist’s series, leaving many to wonder whether it will be the final installment of his spray-painting spree.
The work is one of Banksy’s typical stenciled black silhouettes, appearing on a white shutter just below the zoo’s entrance sign. It has already been placed behind a protective barrier and appears to be under the close watch of zoo staff. Today, the shutter will be left down so that visitors can admire the artwork on their way in.
A mural of a gorilla freeing animals adorns a wall at London Zoo on August 13, 2024 in London, England. Photo: Leon Neal/Getty Images.
The Zoological Society of London claims to have been as surprised as everyone else, with its media manager Rebecca Blanchard telling PA: “We are, quite frankly, thrilled that he’s chosen us to be what could be the grand finale of this series that’s been so talked about.”
She went on to suggest that the work may be a celebration of the zoo. “[Animals] improve people’s mental health, physical health,” she said. “Banksy’s done that around London, and he’s then gone, ‘hey, I know who else does that.’ That’s my interpretation.”
Other online commentators believe that the series, which otherwise seemed strangely devoid of Banksy’s usual political messaging, may in fact be a critique of the zoo. “Abusement parks for bored human outings need to be a thing of the past,” was commenter @vegan.revolution’s take. “Boycott zoos!,” declared @scranplaylove.
The now defaced artwork unveiled by Banksy, depicting a rhinoceros which looked as though it was climbing on top of a car, which has since been removed. Photo: Lucy North/PA Images via Getty Images.
Banksy has taken audiences on a wild ride with his series of nine animal artworks. Reports from sources close to the artist have suggested his intention was to “cheer people with a moment of unexpected amusement, as well as to gently underline the human capacity for creative play, rather than for destruction and negativity.”
Each new artwork has drawn admiring crowds, but also some dramatic contention. Yesterday’s addition to the menagerie, a racy rhino, has already been defaced by a young man wearing a balaclava. Footage of the incident, obtained by BBC News, shows how bystanders pleaded with the vandal to stop while he quickly applied a white graffiti tag. “Don’t do that!” called one woman. “Idiot!” muttered another as the man strode away. “Why did you do it?” a third called out to his retreating figure.
A beaten-up grey Nissan Micra with a traffic cone on its hood, which the rhino appeared to be mounting when the work was first debuted, has disappeared, leaving the animal to hover in space. It was not removed by the local council, which is closely monitoring the work that has “brought so much work to many,” according to a report in the Independent.
The rhino is not the first Banksy animal artwork to be dismantled or damaged. A wolf howling at the moon on a satellite dish in Peckham was stolen by a troop of masked men just hours after it was unveiled last Thursday. Angry onlookers booed when contractors removed a stretching big cat from a billboard in Cricklewood on Saturday.