Banksy unveils new goat mural artwork in London

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Kelly Rissman

US News Reporter

Banksy has revealed a new artwork in London featuring a goat perched on top of a wall.

The street artist, whose identity is shrouded in mystery, posted the new piece featuring the goat silhouette with rocks falling down below it, on Instagram. Banksy usually uses his Instagram to claim ownership for his works.

The artwork has appeared on the side of a building near Kew Bridge in Richmond, south-west London.

Banksy used a real-life CCTV camera to point at the goat, which has now been moved back to its original position.

Users on social media have been trying to interpret the new artwork, with one saying: “The camera is looking at the falling rocks, rather than what's causing them to fall. Goats are adapted to climbing on narrow ledges, so it isn't in danger, but the camera's view doesn't give the full picture. So I'd guess that it's referencing the need to understand that news needs context before forming an opinion.”

“Humans are the unresponsive camera watching as all of nature is in peril. There is no where else for life (nature) to go. We did this. And yet we have removed ourselves from being present and responsible or empathetic,” posted another.

The work follows a migrant boat created by Banksy, which was crowdsurfed at Glastonbury in June, during performances by Bristol indie punk band Idles and rapper Little Simz.

It was criticised by then-home secretary James Cleverly as “trivialising” small boats crossings and “vile”, but the artist responded saying his reaction was a “a bit over the top”.

The Bristol artist said it was the real boat being detained by Italian authorities, after it had rescued unaccompanied children at sea, that he deemed “vile and unacceptable”.

In March, the artist created a tree mural on a building on Hornsey Road in Finsbury Park, north London, which saw a tree cut back with green paint sprayed behind it to give the impression of foliage. A stencil of a person holding a pressure hose was also sketched on to the building, and the vivid paint colour matched the one used by Islington Council for street signs in the area.

Lidia Guerra, a Hornsey Road resident, said: “The way it’s been done with the paint spraying down reminds me of a weeping willow, so there’s perhaps a message about the struggle of nature with the dead tree in front.

The mural has now been encased in plastic and surrounded by fencing after vandals threw paint over it.

Banksy is one of the world’s most famous street artists, with his work appearing in cities across the globe.