by BBC World News | March 19, 2024, 5:31 am
A blank wall of a social housing building has been sprayed with green paint. In the lower left corner is the silhouette of a person holding a pressure hose.
All as a backdrop of a cherry tree that was completely pruned to make it look like its leaves.
This is the new Banksy mural that appeared on Sunday in North London.
The British artist himself, whose identity remains unknown, confirmed that it was his work by publishing pictures of the work on his Instagram account.
In the post, you can also see a photo of the bare tree with a white wall behind it, before the mural was created.
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Residents of the area came to the mural to admire first-hand the works of one of the world's most famous artists.
Wanga Sellers, who lives near the mural, said: “It's like a personal message to us residents. We feel very proud.”
James Beck, creator of the BBC radio series banksy story, He explained that the work displays the characteristics of Banksy's work, down to the details of using the same shade of green that the city hall, where the mural is located, uses for its signs.
“When you zoom out, the tree appears to have come back to life, but in a noticeably fake and artificial way,” Beck explained.
“If you go back to the beginning of Banksy’s work, he was always looking for something that he could do with minimal effort to make something look really cool,” Beck added.
He said: “It's spring and this tree must be full of leaves, but Banksy must have walked by it and thought how miserable it was.”
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Before the artist confirmed that this was his work, Islington councilor Flora Williamson spoke of the importance of having a Banksy work “in the middle of social housing and in one of the poorest areas of the town.”
“I think it adds excitement and culture, and brings life to the area,” he said.
The city council believes the cherry tree in front is between 40 and 50 years old and its health is deteriorating. But he confirmed that he has been maintaining and trimming it for some time, whether for safety or to prolong its productive life.
Sally Flatman, one of the people who came to see the mural, believes the work “speaks to how valuable green spaces are, and how we need more of them in our urban areas.”
One of Banksy's most famous works is Kissing Coins (“Kissing the Cops”, 2004) and The Girl with the Balloon (“The Girl with the Balloon”, 2006), which self-destructed after being sold at auction in 2018.
What until Sunday was considered his last work, a “stop” traffic sign with three military drones, was stolen just hours after Banksy confirmed it was his own in December last year.
