Banksy's Big Cat Vanishes as London's Animal Trail Continues
A Banksy-created mural of a large cat briefly graced an advertising hoarding on Edgware Road in Cricklewood, north-west London, on Saturday, only to be removed by contractors a few hours later. They feared the artwork would be ripped down, potentially causing a safety hazard.
The anonymous artist, who confirmed the image's authenticity on Saturday afternoon, has hinted at further summer surprises in store. The *Observer
has learned that a seventh image is likely to appear soon in another unexpected location. Londoners are advised to keep their eyes peeled for a few more days.
For a week, the capital's streets have been adorned with a string of unusual animal sightings, all attributed to Banksy. These include pelicans, a goat, a trio of monkeys, and now, the vanished cat.
Banksy's intention is clear: to brighten the public's mood during a period of grim news headlines and widespread negativity. The artist hopes these uplifting works will offer moments of unexpected amusement and gently highlight the human capacity for creative play, rather than destruction.
Banksy's support organisation, Pest Control Office, has cautioned against overly complex interpretations of the art's deeper meaning. However, speculation has run wild. Some saw the goat precariously balanced on a precipice, which appeared near Kew Bridge in south-west London, as a symbol of humanity's folly. Others viewed it as a playful visual pun on the contemporary slang use of "goat" to mean "greatest of all time."
On Tuesday, two silhouetted elephant heads, their trunks reaching towards each other through the bricked-up windows of a house in Chelsea, added to the urban menagerie.
Wednesday saw perhaps the most joyous addition so far: a trio of monkeys swinging across a bridge over Brick Lane in east London.
The following day, an outline of a howling lone wolf painted on a large satellite dish on a Peckham rooftop was removed by two masked men with a ladder. They made off with their prize, leaving the fate of the artwork unknown.
On Friday, Banksy's representative confirmed that the theft was not orchestrated by them, adding that they are unaware of the dish's current location.
The same day, a pair of hungry pelicans appeared above a Walthamstow fish and chip shop, their long beaks snapping at fish.
Just hours after the big cat's appearance in Cricklewood on Saturday, it was removed by contractors. One contractor, identified only as Marc, explained to PA that they were planning to take down the billboard on Monday and decided to remove the artwork early to prevent potential damage and ensure safety.
"We'll store that bit [the artwork] in our yard to see if anyone collects it but if not it'll go in a skip," he said. "I've been told to keep it careful in case he wants it."
Banksy, whose identity remains a closely guarded secret, operates under the cover of darkness with a small team of helpers. On Monday at 5am, two men in a cherry picker near Kew Bridge were filmed as a bearded man in a van operated a hydraulic lifting platform carrying someone in a large white facemask.
While Banksy's animal menagerie has been springing up, the artist-funded rescue boat, the M V Louise Michel, has been actively saving endangered asylum seekers. The high-speed lifeboat patrols migrant routes in the Mediterranean, having picked up at least 85 survivors in the past few days, transporting them safely to Pozzallo, Sicily. On Saturday, the Louise Michel was on call, responding to a boat in distress.
Five years ago, Banksy announced his decision to finance the vessel, named after a French feminist anarchist, with the aim of rescuing refugees in distress as they fled North Africa.
In June at Glastonbury, an inflatable migrant boat designed by Banksy was used for crowd surfing during performances by Bristol indie punk band Idles and rapper Little Simz.
James Cleverly, the Conservative Home Secretary at the time, condemned the artist's actions, deeming them a trivialisation of small boat crossings and "vile." Banksy responded that the detention of the Louise Michel by Italian authorities was the truly "vile and unacceptable" development.
Banksy's latest street art, however, is deliberately lighthearted, reminiscent of his lockdown series, the Great British Spraycation of 2020. This seaside series famously featured chips, with an image of a seagull hovering over oversized "chips" in a skip. He also created a rat relaxing in a deckchair with a cocktail.
Another image from the lockdown campaign referenced the refugee crisis, depicting three children in a rickety boat made of scrap metal. Above them, Banksy inscribed: "We're all in the same boat."
The provenance of that series was confirmed with the release of a three-minute Instagram video clip revealing the artist, travelling in a beaten-up camper van on a holiday tour that included Lowestoft in Suffolk and Gorleston, Great Yarmouth, Cromer, and King's Lynn, all in Norfolk. His final London destinations are yet to be unveiled.
