When banking on London proved to be a mistake for Banksy

Enigmatic artist's latest artwork was 'stolen' from a London rooftop

LONDON:

A new Banksy artwork depicting a wolf on a satellite dish in London was removed, possibly stolen, less than an hour after it was unveiled by the elusive street artist on Thursday.

The piece was the fourth animal-themed artwork that Banksy had installed in various parts of the UK capital this week. The street artist, whose identity is unknown and the subject of feverish speculation, confirmed on Instagram that the works were his own.

The wolf silhouette was located on the roof of an empty shop in Peckham, southeast London. Photos from the scene carried by local media show a person climbing up a ladder to retrieve the satellite dish while another holds the ladder for them. Further images show an individual in shorts walking off with the piece of art.

"We were called to reports of a stolen satellite dish containing artwork at 1:52 pm (12:52 GMT) on Thursday, 8 August in Rye Lane, Peckham," London's Metropolitan Police force said in a statement. "There have been no arrests. Inquiries continue."

Several months usually pass between new Banksy artworks and this week's sudden spurt has sparked speculation among fans about their meaning. Are they criticism of England's far-right riots or possibly support for Palestinians? Perhaps they reference global warming or even the Olympics? On Monday, a depiction of a goat precariously perched on top of a wall with rocks tumbling down appeared in Richmond, southwest London.

"I think it's actually a mountain gazelle from Palestine. So I think that work has to do with Palestine," Daniel Lloyd-Morgan, a 60-year-old artist told AFP.

Then on Tuesday two elephant silhouettes with their trunks stretched towards each other appeared in Chelsea, southwest London.

On Wednesday, the black silhouette of three monkeys appeared on the side of a railway bridge as if they were swinging.

"Banksy is trying to get us to think and reflect about the ecological crisis that really threatens humanity," university professor Fawaz Gerges told AFP as he admired the latest work. "His focus seems to be on animals, on trees, on oceans and it's an overarching theme of his in the past few months," he added.

The artworks have appeared at a time when England is gripped by violent far-right, anti-immigrant protests over the murder of three girls. Demonstrators have targeted hotels housing asylum seekers.

Banksy, whose identity is unknown, has repeatedly shown sympathy for the plight of refugees. At the Glastonbury music festival last month, the artist launched an inflatable boat over crowds depicting dummy migrants wearing life vests.

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