Individuals in the audience jeered at the workers while they dismantled Banksy’s freshest creation right after it was displayed.
The decision to take down the latest artwork by the secretive street artist – a shadow of a stretching cat – was met with disapproval by the public on Saturday night.
The piece had been placed on a vacant, dilapidated advertising board in Edgware Road, Cricklewood, northwest London, and verified by Banksy earlier in the day.
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Contractors were booed as they pulled down the billboard. Pic: PA
This was the sixth in a series of newly revealed animal depictions by Banksy this week.
The feline, extending its body with its shoulders down and its hips and tail raised in the typical cat manner, joins an ibex goat, elephants, monkeys, a howling wolf and pelicans, also discovered within the city this week as Banksy artworks.
One of the workers, identified only as Marc, had mentioned earlier that they had intended to remove the billboard on Monday anyhow and replace it, but the action was moved up to Saturday in case someone “tears it down and leaves it hazardous”.
Contractors dismantle the billboard with the new Banksy artwork. Pic: PA
This billboard can be found in Cricklewood, northwest London. Pic: PA
As per the statement given to the PA news agency, the owner plans to store the artwork in case Banksy shows interest in reclaiming it. Alternatively, if unclaimed, he mentioned that it would be discarded.
According to an officer present at the location, the billboard owner indicated his intention to donate it to an art gallery.
Depiction of a goat near Kew Bridge. Pic: PA
To comply with the police’s directive to prevent public endangerment, a black board was utilized to obscure most of the cat on the billboard. The authorities aimed to deter individuals from venturing onto the road for photos and videos.
Duo of elephants in Chelsea. Pic: PA
Authorities cordoned off the sidewalk in front of the billboard.
Earlier in the week, Banksy introduced a creation of a goat above falling rocks, placed near Kew Bridge in the southwest section of London, which marked the commencement of a series focusing on animals.
Adjacent at Chelsea, silhouettes portraying two elephants with interlinked trunks on a building’s facade confirmed as Banksy’s artwork surfaced the subsequent day.
Three primates on a bridge in Brick Lane. Pic: PA
During the week, Banksy disclosed a piece showing three monkeys seemingly swinging from a train bridge over Brick Lane in eastern London.
Later, pelicans depicted snatching fish from a fish and chip sign in Walthamstow, northeast London, were unveiled, followed by a wolf howling from a satellite dish in Peckham, south London, which unfortunately got stolen shortly after its confirmation on the previous day.
Banksy’s enchanting creation of pelicans feasting on fish, positioned at Bonners Fish Bar in Walthamstow. Pic: PA
Shortly after its revelation, three masked individuals swiftly removed the satellite dish adorned with the wolf artwork.
An eyewitness reported filming the incident, leading to one of the perpetrators hurling his phone onto a rooftop.
Expressing disappointment, the witness stated, “It’s regrettable that such artistic displays cannot be preserved for a longer duration, and it’s unfortunate that this one disappeared within an hour.”
Three individuals stole the howling wolf from a shop rooftop in Peckham. Pic: PA
Pic: Reuters
The Metropolitan Police stated that no arrests had been made.
A representative for Banksy, whose identity is undisclosed, mentioned that he was not involved in the theft and was unaware of the satellite dish’s whereabouts.
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Home secretary criticizes Banksy’s stunt
Banksy recently faced criticism from former home secretary James Cleverly, who described the artwork created for Glastonbury Festival as “trivializing” small boat crossings and “vile”.
The artist had claimed responsibility for an inflatable boat containing dummy migrants that was crowdsurfed at the music festival in June, during performances by Bristol indie punk band Idles and rapper Little Simz.
