Banksy unveils his third animal artwork in three days in London – National

Over the past three days, anonymous street artist Banksy has transformed the British capital into a zoo, unveiling three new animal-themed murals across London.

The third painting was spotted in east London on Wednesday and later shared on Banksy's Instagram account and his personal website, where the artist regularly verifies his work.

The graffiti in Brick Lane shows three monkeys climbing over the elevated tracks of the popular district. Like the two artworks before it, the monkeys are seen and painted as silhouettes high above the ground.

Before the monkeys, Banksy first unveiled a painting of a horned goat perched dangerously high on a wall in the London district of Richmond upon Thames.

The mural, shared by Banksy on Monday, features a security camera aimed at several painted rocks falling down below the goat's vantage point.

Nearly 24 hours later, the artist shared an image of two elephant silhouettes reaching out from boarded-up windows to grab each other's trunks. The street art piece was painted on the side of a house in Chelsea; before it was identified as a genuine Banksy work, it went temporarily unnoticed by some locals, like the dog owner pictured in the photo.

As with most of his works, Banksy did not provide any commentary or context for any of his street art featuring animals. Despite this, fans of the elusive artist have already begun to speculate about Banksy's intentions, with some believing the daily artworks are part of the build-up to a larger mural or announcement.

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Many art lovers have speculated that the silhouette murals are a commentary on environmental protection and the loss of wildlife habitat.

“We forced these beautiful animals to live in a concrete jungle. We really suck. We only had one job,” wrote one commenter. “To protect Mother Earth and keep her alive.”

Others have claimed that the murals are about surveillance or an unwillingness to see what is right in front of you, such as the elephants in the room. This assumption stems from the faceless surveillance camera embedded in the goat artwork and the passersby visible in the monkey and elephant photos who either did not notice the murals or did not want to stop.

Who is Banksy?

Banksy rose to international fame through his often political street art. Many of the artist's murals – including the popular “Girl with Balloon” and the recent tree mural – contain commentary on capitalism, war and greed.

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In June, the artist caused a stir when he let a crowd surfing boat with refugee dolls float over people's heads at the Glastonbury Festival.

The British Home Secretary described Banksy's dinghy as “disgusting and unacceptable”, but the artist himself wrote that he found this reaction “somewhat excessive”.

Banksy said the Glastonbury exhibition references a real boat, funded by the artist, that was used to rescue unaccompanied migrant children in the Mediterranean.

Bristol-based Banksy said his boat, named MV Louise Michel, was seized by Italian authorities in July after it was involved in the rescue of 37 people, including 17 children.

According to the crew's social media page, the MV Louise Michel has now been released.

Banksy’s true identity remains a secret – and the subject of ongoing speculation.

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