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Banksy’s Animal Stencil Rampage Continues in London | Artnet News
Just when we all thought Banksy had released his last animal-themed artwork, the artist has added yet another to his growing menagerie. In a surprise twist, the artist added an eighth beast to the ongoing London-based series. This time, in the South-East neighborhood of Charlton, a racy rhinoceros is pictured seemingly mounting a beaten up and abandoned grey car with a traffic cone on its hood that echoes the animal’s own horn.
The cheekily suggestive work has delighted commenters on Instagram, where the anonymous street artist claimed ownership. “What a clever piece of work,” enthused @dermotrobinson. “On a roll Banksy Boi!!,” added another user @sanportablo.
“To be fair the rhinos are running out of mating partners,” chimed in @thestencilshed with the most liked comment.
Every day last week, a new Banksy artwork featuring a wild animal appeared somewhere new in the sprawling U.K. capital. Reports citing sources close to the anonymous street artist had suggested that the series was expected to end on Sunday, but it appears that Banksy is just having too much fun capturing Londoners attention with his playful creations.
Indeed, spokespeople for the artist’s authenticating organization Pest Control Office, told the Observer that the works are intended 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.”
Last Monday, a goat appeared in Richmond followed by two elephants in Chelsea on Tuesday. Three monkeys appeared on an overpass on Brick Lane on Wednesday, then a howling wolf on a satellite disk in Peckham on Thursday, and two hungry pelicans atop a fish bar in Walthamstow on Friday.
A City of London Police officer looks at an artwork by street artist Banksy, the seventh to released this week, depicting piranha fish swimming around a Police Box, in the City of London, on August 11, 2024. Photo: Henry Nicholls/ AFP via Getty Images.
Unlike those works, the eight addition is not merely a black silhouette of a rhino but a more detailed design in black and grey, emphasizing the comparison with the grey car.
On Saturday, a stretching big cat appeared on a disused billboard in Cricklewood. It has since been dismantled and removed by contractors while a crowd of angry onlookers booed. Some reports suggest it may be donated by the billboard’s owner to an art gallery.
This was followed yesterday by a tank of menacing piranhas on a police box in the City, London’s main financial district. The precious work has already been cordoned off from the public while the local authority City of London Corporation decide how best to preserve it.
Their concern may be compounded by the recent daylight robbery of a howling wolf painted by Banksy onto a satellite dish in Peckham. The Metropolitan Police are still investigating the incident and had not made any arrests as of today.
Can Londoners expect to discover more beasts in Banksy’s ever-expanding menagerie?
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