Banksy Reveals Ninth Artwork at London Zoo

A new piece of artwork at London Zoo has been confirmed to belong to Banksy, marking his ninth artwork in the capital in as many days.

The new piece, located on a shutter at the zoo’s entrance, displays a gorilla lifting the shutter, allowing a number of birds to escape while the eyes of other animals can be seen lurking in the darkness. The artist has posted this on his official Instagram account, and it ties in with previous pieces featuring animals out of their natural habitat, scattered around London.

The Zoological Society of London (ZSL) has confirmed that the artwork will be protected with a Perspex cover and will leave the shutter down for the thousands of visitors to view the gorilla on Tuesday.

The confirmation comes after Banksy’s last piece, a rhino mounting a silver Nissan Micra with a traffic cone on its bonnet, was defaced by a man in a black balaclava just hours after it went up.

Located in Charlton’s Westmoor Street, the rhino piece was revealed on Monday. A video obtained by BBC News shows a man approaching the artwork and spray painting it, leaving his white tag on it. The crowd gathered at the piece could be heard saying “don’t do that,” and as the person walks away, a voice from the crowd asks, “Why did you do that? Why did you do it?”

Banksy has been posting artwork to his Instagram every day since August 5, and it is unclear how long he will continue dotting artwork around the capital.

Rebecca Blanchard, media manager at ZSL, told the PA news agency, “This was an incredible surprise and 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 added that the latest Banksy artworks in London have “brought so much joy and cheer,” just like the Regent’s Park-based zoo.

Ms. Blanchard mentioned that the zoo desires to “protect it from the glare of the sun,” and is looking at ways to preserve the artwork by keeping the shutter at the entrance down so visitors can see the work as they enter the zoo. She confirmed that it would stay at the zoo entrance.

US celebrity photographer Kevin Mazur rushed down to the zoo on Tuesday. Mazur, who was the official photographer for Justin Timberlake’s tour stop at the O2 on Monday night, disagrees that the London Zoo image is the last in the animal series.

He told PA, “Me and my sons had a lot of fun when he came to New York and he was doing one every day for a month. I’m hoping that he’s doing that for the people here in London, every day for a month. This is number nine, so maybe it’ll be more.”

Bristol street artist Banksy created the New York series in October 2013.

The rhino follows Sunday’s piece, piranhas on a police sentry box, which has now been removed from near London’s Old Bailey court to preserve it. The anonymous artist appeared to have used translucent spray paint to turn the box into a giant fish tank for the piece which appeared on Ludgate Hill before being taped off by the local council. The glass-paned box will be kept temporarily by the City of London Corporation’s offices, a walk of less than 15 minutes from the previous location.

A spokesman for the authority said: “We have moved the artwork to Guildhall Yard to ensure it is properly protected and open for the public to view safely. A permanent home for the piece will be decided in due course.”

Banksy’s first piece was a goat perched on top of a wall and has been followed by silhouettes of elephants, monkeys, a wolf, pelicans, and a cat, all of which have appeared in various locations across London.

The sixth piece, a stretching cat on an empty, distressed advertising hoarding, was removed from its location in north-west London hours after it was unveiled on Saturday. Crowds booed as the piece in Cricklewood was dismantled by three men who said they were “hired” by a “contracting company” to take down the billboard for safety reasons. The cat design was the second piece to be removed last week after a howling wolf on a satellite dish was taken off the roof of a building in Peckham, south London, less than an hour after it was unveiled.

A spokesperson for Banksy told the PA news agency that the artist was neither connected to nor endorsed the theft of the wolf artwork and that they had “no knowledge as to the dish’s current whereabouts.”

The fifth piece to be unveiled was on Bonners Fish Bar in Walthamstow, east London, showing a pelican stooping to scoop up a fish on the takeaway’s sign, while another is tossing one in the air. The fish and chip shop had announced in July that it would close from August 1 until September 5. They later expressed their gratitude at the artwork on Instagram, saying, “We’re over the moon that Banksy decided to choose our little fish and chip shop in wonderful Walthamstow and love the design. Contrary to some beliefs, we didn’t ask him to do this, but are very grateful he did!”

Source: PA News Agency, BBC News.