New Banksy mural emerges on side of building in North London
The new mural, featuring a vast spray of green paint, is thought to be the work of the anonymous street art icon.
By Nick Reilly
A new graffiti mural confirmed to be the work of Banksy has emerged on the side of a building in London.
The artwork was first spotted on Hornsey Road in Finsbury Park yesterday (March 17) and shows a spread of green paint behind a cut-back tree, giving the effect of foliage. A stencil of a person holding a pressure hose, which appears painted in the anonymous street art icon’s recognisable style, is also underneath the green paint.
Banksy has now confirmed he is behind the mural, hours after James Peak – the man behind BBC Radio 4’s insightful The Banksy Story – said he believed it was the artist’s doing.
Posting on X/Twitter, councillor Flora Williamson said: ““By far the most exciting thing to happen on today’s canvass session on Hornsey Road was seeing that Banksy had come to Tollington over night. Lots of local interest – I’m a fan of it.”
Haringey Tree Protectors added: ” Interesting that @banksy chose Haringey to do this work. Where @haringeycouncil is still not taking meaningful action to protect mature trees, when our streets are filled with the sound of chainsaws & our trees are battered each summer by events.”
Banksy’s latest work comes after he previously unveiled an anti-war artwork in Peckham, South London, last year, which consisted of a STOP traffic sign emblazoned with figures of two drones used in war attacks. It was later stolen, leading to two men being arrested.
Elsewhere, the aforementioned BBC documentary The Banksy Story shed some significant light on the street artist’s identity last year.
In an unearthed BBC recording from 2003, former BBC arts correspondent Robert Wrench interviews the artist and asks if he could use Banksy’s real name, citing that The Independent had already used it. Wrench then asks if his name is “Robert Banks,” and the artist replies, “It’s Robbie.”
An edited version of the recording had recently been used as part of the BBC podcast series The Banksy Story, which was released in July. Wrench, after listening to the podcast series, was inspired to revisit the full original recording and discovered the pivotal information about the artist that was never used.
In the newly surfaced interview a young Banks also speaks about whether graffiti should be considered vandalism. “If it’s done properly it is illegal! But I got a good reaction I think off most people from my work. You know, I’ve even had policemen in the past say they kind of like things about it, but… I just think it’s my right to go out and paint it,” he says.