Banksy: what does his London animal series mean?

An artwork by Banksy depicts a gorilla releasing animals on the front of a shutter outside London Zoo

(Image credit: Adrian Dennis / AFP via Getty Images)

published 13 August 2024

Banksy unveiled his ninth animal artwork in as many days this morning, the latest in a series that has delighted Londoners.

The elusive street artist confirmed that the mural of a gorilla, seal and birds on a London Zoo shutter was his work in an Instagram post at 9:30am, after speculation by the zoo earlier. It's a departure from the last eight days, when he has posted a picture of an animal artwork around the capital at 1pm each day, with no captions or location details.

Many of Banksy's previous artworks have been "analysed for their political statements", said the London Evening Standard. The anonymous artist recently made headlines for a controversial installation of an inflatable boat filled with migrant dummies, used to crowdsurf during Glastonbury. Naturally, the whimsical animal series has "sparked debate online about a possible deeper meaning".

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An animal a day

Banksy's latest "graffiti campaign" began last Monday, when an ibex goat painted in his "signature stencil-style silhouette" appeared perching on a pillar near Kew Bridge in Richmond, said Sky News. This was followed on Tuesday by two elephant silhouettes near Chelsea, monkeys swinging over Brick Lane on Wednesday, and a wolf howling on a satellite dish on a Peckham roof on Thursday. Less than an hour after the wolf was unveiled, the satellite dish was stolen. Banksy's spokesperson said they had "no knowledge as to the dish's current whereabouts".

Then came a pelican stooping to scoop up fish on the sign of a fish and chip shop in Walthamstow, east London. "We're over the moon," posted Bonner's Fish Bar on its Facebook page. The sixth piece, a cat stretching out on an advertising billboard, was unveiled on Saturday in Cricklewood – but removed hours later. Crowds booed at the three men dismantling the artwork, who said they had been "hired" by a "contracting company" to take down the billboard for safety reasons.

An artwork featuring three monkeys by Banksy, adorns a bridge over Brick Lane on August 07, 2024 of London, England — Three monkeys on a bridge over Brick Lane

In a "departure" from his usual style, Banksy then painted the windows of a City of London Police box with swimming piranhas on Sunday, turning the box into a tank. It was moved on Monday from near the Old Bailey to a "safe location". "A permanent home for the piece will be decided in due course," said a City of London Corporation spokesperson.

Monday morning brought a "cheeky" mural of a rhinoceros "mounting" a car parked on Westmoor Street in Charlton, southeast London. The artwork was defaced hours later by a man wearing a balaclava, and the car has now been removed.

But fans believed the series would finish on Sunday, said Sky's culture reporter Gemma Peplow. The question now is, "how long will the anonymous artist continue?"

A mural purportedly by the artist Banksy, showing pelicans eating fish, adorns the side of Bonners fish and chip shop on August 09, 2024 in Walthamstow, England — Pelicans enjoy a fish supper in Walthamstow, east London

Deeper meaning or silly season?

Each artwork shows animals interacting with their environment, but the latest work may be the "biggest clue yet" as to the meaning of the campaign, said Metro. The gorilla is painted in a way that suggests it is lifting the shutter to free the birds and a seal "from captivity". Previous Banksy pieces have featured "similar themes of confinement and escape".

But such theorising has been "way too involved", said The Observer's arts correspondent Vanessa Thorpe. The purpose of the series is simple: to "cheer up the public" after weeks of "bleak" headlines.

The artwork is reminiscent of his series during the Covid-19 pandemic, known as the Great British Spraycation, which featured a seagull hovering over oversized chips in a skip, and a rat relaxing in a deckchair. Banksy hopes the animals will provide "a moment of unexpected amusement", while highlighting the "human capacity for creative play, rather than for destruction and negativity".

The series is intended to inject some fun and lightheartedness into summer, confirmed Pest Control Office, Banksy's support organisation.

And it seems to be doing just that, said staff at London Zoo. The latest London artworks have "brought so much joy and cheer" to the city, Rebecca Blanchard, media manager at the Zoological Society of London (ZSL), told the PA news agency. The gorilla mural is already "sparking a lot of smiles".

A person poses for a photograph with an artwork by street artist Banksy, the seventh to released this week, depicting fish swimming around a Police Box, in the City of London, on August 11, 2024 — A City of London police box has become infested with piranhas

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Harriet Marsden is a writer for The Week, mostly covering UK and global news and politics. Before joining the site, she was a freelance journalist for seven years, specialising in social affairs, gender equality and culture. She worked for The Guardian, The Times and The Independent, and regularly contributed articles to The Sunday Times, The Telegraph, The New Statesman, Tortoise Media and Metro, as well as appearing on BBC Radio London, Times Radio and “Woman’s Hour”. She has a master’s in international journalism from City University, London, and was awarded the "journalist-at-large" fellowship by the Local Trust charity in 2021.