Crowd Boos as Sixth Banksy Cat Artwork Removed Hours After Unveiling

Crowds expressed their disapproval as a newly revealed Banksy artwork of a stretching cat was taken down from a distressed advertising billboard in north-west London just hours after it was displayed.

The piece was dismantled by three men who claimed they were hired by a “contracting company” due to safety concerns.

Located in Cricklewood, the artwork depicted a dark silhouette of a large cat with an upturned tail stretching its body. This piece is the sixth animal-themed artwork Banksy has unveiled in London this week, following previous designs featuring a goat, elephants, monkeys, a wolf, and pelicans.

Not long after Banksy confirmed ownership of the design on Instagram, crowds came from across London to witness the piece before the claimed contractors arrived.

One contractor, who identified himself only as Marc, informed the PA news agency that the billboard was scheduled for removal on Monday but that the date was moved up to Saturday for safety reasons.

“We’ll store that bit (the artwork) in our yard to see if anyone collects it, but if not it’ll go into a skip,” Marc stated. “I’ve been told to keep it careful in case he wants it.”

Initially, a black board was used to cover most of the cat on the billboard on police request, aiming to prevent people from walking into the road and causing traffic disruptions.

The removal process was paused briefly as police verified the contractors’ credentials before allowing the work to proceed.

A police officer on the scene revealed that the billboard owner intends to donate the artwork to an art gallery. Crowds gathered, with around 50 people taking pictures and observing the removal process.

The Metropolitan Police issued a statement saying: “Police were called to Edgware Road, NW2, shortly after 16:30 on Saturday, 10 August, to reports of a large crowd near a Banksy artwork on a billboard.”

The statement continued: “Contractors, on behalf of the billboard owner, told officers they were authorized to remove the board as it was deemed unsafe. Local Authority representatives confirmed the identities and authority to remove the board, and the removal then took place.”

Lia Colacicco, a 67-year-old member of the NorthWestTwo Residents Association, offered to take care of the Banksy once it was removed. Fellow member Ben Tansley, 71, lamented, “If it wasn’t guarded overnight, somebody would take it. It’s such a shame.”

The association’s chairwoman, Carol Reeman, 64, added, “This is Cricklewood, this is our Banksy. You can’t even enjoy it for the whole day before someone wanted to take it down.”

A local Brent Council spokesperson clarified, “The billboard is privately owned and not council property.”

The stretching cat design is the second Banksy piece removed this week. Earlier, a wolf howling on a satellite dish was taken down from the roof of a shop in Peckham, south London, less than an hour after it was unveiled.

According to a witness who filmed the removal, three men took down the dish, and one even threw the witness’s phone onto a roof.

The witness expressed, “It’s a great shame we can’t have nice things, and it’s a shame it couldn’t have lasted more than an hour.”

The Metropolitan Police issued another statement concerning the Peckham incident: “We were called to reports of a stolen satellite dish containing artwork at 13:52 on Thursday, 8 August, in Rye Lane, Peckham. There have been no arrests. Inquiries continue.”

A spokesman for Banksy clarified that the artist has no connection to or endorsement of the theft of the wolf design and has no knowledge of the dish’s current whereabouts.

The first artwork in Banksy’s new animal-themed series was revealed near Kew Bridge in south-west London, showing a goat with rocks falling below it, just above a CCTV camera.

On Tuesday, silhouettes of two elephants reaching their trunks towards each other appeared on a building in Chelsea, west London.

This was followed by three monkeys looking as though they were swinging underneath a bridge over Brick Lane in east London. Not far from Shoreditch High Street, the creation attracted considerable public interest.

The fifth design, featuring pelicans taking fish from a London chip shop sign in Walthamstow, east London, was unveiled on Friday.

Source: PA News Agency