A new Banksy artwork is being removed by contractors just hours after it appeared on a billboard in London, and could end up in a rubbish bin if it is not donated to an art gallery.
The black silhouette of a big cat stretching out on an abandoned sign appeared in Cricklewood, north London, overnight – and the artist confirmed he was behind it with an Instagram post, as is his usual style.
But hours later, men claiming to have been “hired” by a “contracting company” turned up in Cricklewood to remove the sign for safety reasons.
A contractor, who would only give his name as Marc, said the decking would be removed on Monday and replaced, but the removal had been moved up to Saturday in case someone “tears it down and makes it unsafe.”
He told the PA news agency: “We’ll keep that part (the artwork) in our yard to see if anyone picks it up, but if not we’ll put it in a bin. I’ve been told to keep it carefully in case anyone wants it.”
They came hours after a man was seen trying to steal the hoarding artwork, and after joyless thugs stole an earlier animal-themed piece of art from the series.
Do you know the man in the video? Contact him at jon.brady@mailonline.co.uk
Contractors remove Banksy’s latest artwork – a silhouette of a cat on a billboard in Cricklewood
The artwork was removed, contractors say, to prevent it from being stolen, after a man was filmed apparently trying to rip it off the wall.
A man has already been spotted trying to get his hands on Banksy’s latest artwork, less than an hour after it was unveiled.
A passerby managed to capture the moment on camera, as the man appeared to be using a hammer to get under the sheet of wood and steal the undoubtedly valuable piece of art.
Banksy revealed his sixth piece of art in as many days on his Instagram page today at 1pm, but within an hour an opportunist was caught red-handed trying to remove it from the wall.
Fresh paint was seen on some nearby branches, perhaps indicating the pace at which the elusive artist worked.
A passerby captured the moment the fan appeared to be using a hammer to remove some of the surrounding rotten wood, before looking at the viewer, laughing and walking away when he realised he was being filmed.
Police closed the road in front of the sign as about 50 people gathered to take photos.
Some Cricklewood residents have regretted the decision to remove the artwork to keep it safe.
Lia Colacicco, 67, told the PA news agency she had offered to look after the Banksy artwork for the poster’s owners once it was removed.
Ms Colacicco and two other members of the North West Two Residents Association watched as contractors began removing it.
Ben Tansley, 71, said: “If it hadn’t been watched overnight someone would have taken it. It’s a shame. There were people here this morning before it appeared on Instagram.”
Carol Reeman, 64, said: “This is Cricklewood, this is our Banksy. You can’t enjoy it for a day before someone wants to take it down.”
“You’d wait forever for a Banksy to come to our neighbourhood. Cricklewood is on the map.”
But the owner of a billboard that now houses a Banksy artwork has told police he will donate it to an art gallery, an officer at the scene told the PA news agency.
Police, who wanted to prevent people from walking in front of traffic, used a black board to cover most of the billboard. Spectators booed the contractors when they removed the work on Saturday.
This comes after previous murals unveiled this week consisted of a goat, two elephants, three monkeys, a lone wolf on a satellite dish and two pelicans.
Now, the anonymous graffiti artist has revealed he’s been leaving animal murals all over London to help spread a little happiness, during a bleak period in the UK.
This comes after previous murals revealed this week consisted of a goat, two elephants, three monkeys and a lone wolf on a satellite dish and two pelicans.
Police had to ask people to stay away from the road as they tried to take photos of the artwork.
The Guardian reported that Banksy had been attempting to create “moments of unexpected fun, as well as gently underlining the human capacity for creative play, rather than destruction and negativity.”
He also stated that a seventh mural will soon appear in another surprise location, so eagle-eyed fans should keep an eye out.
The first graffiti in the series, which he shared on his Instagram account on Monday, showed a goat teetering on a ledge with rocks falling beneath it, just above where a CCTV camera was pointed.
The same lifting platform was seen in the early hours of Monday at the spot where the goat mural was being painted. It is located near Kew Bridge, south-west London, on the wall of engineering firm Boss & Co, which makes exclusive weapons.
Banksy on Monday posted an artwork of a goat perched on top of a wall near Kew Bridge in Richmond.
Another new piece of art, confirmed to be by Banksy, was unveiled on a wall of a house in Chelsea, London, this week.
The mural is located above Bonners Fish Bar on Northcote Road. It is inspired by a quiet residential street in East London.
The next day, the artist added another design to the collection: silhouettes of two elephants with their trunks stretched towards each other on the side of a building near Chelsea.
Next up was a trio of monkeys appearing to be swinging under a bridge over Brick Lane, near a vintage clothing store and cafe on the popular east London market street, not far from Shoreditch High Street.
Primates have been associated with the Japanese proverb “see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil.” But in Banksy’s work, the monkeys do not cover their eyes, ears or mouths.
His fourth artwork, which appeared yesterday in south-east London and depicts a lone wolf howling at a satellite dish, appears to have been stolen within minutes.
The striking painting of the canine howling towards the night sky appeared overnight on top of a former Betfred store in Rye Lane, Peckham.
A video has emerged showing the shocking moment the artwork was dismantled before being moved.
The group of hooded men wearing masks and gloves were seen climbing the building, removing the satellite dish and walking away.
The artwork depicting the silhouette of a howling wolf has appeared on a rooftop in Peckham. It is the latest piece in a series of murals that have been unveiled this week.
A hooded man wearing a mask holding the satellite dish while standing on top of the building.
The apparent theft is reminiscent of a similar incident last year, when another Banksy work – a traffic stop sign featuring three military drones – was also stolen.
So far, Banksy has been confirming pieces as his own with posts at 1:00 pm on his Instagram page.
The most recent Google Street View view, from June 2022, shows the billboard used for a tool company’s advertisement.
Banksy’s team has been contacted for comment.
The artist is one of the most elusive creatives in the world and has managed to avoid completely revealing his identity.
In 2008, The Mail on Sunday reported that he might be Robin Gunningham, who was born in Yate, near Bristol, the city where the artist first came to prominence.