Banksy Artwork Vanishes After Brief Appearance

In a dramatic turn of events, a recent Banksy artwork has been stolen shortly after its unveiling in London. The piece, featuring a silhouette of a wolf howling at the moon on a satellite dish, was discovered on Thursday in Rye Lane, Peckham, South London. This marks the fourth Banksy artwork to appear in the city within just a few days.

The elusive artist, known for his provocative street art, showcased this new piece on Instagram. The Banksy press team has expressed concern, indicating their belief that the artwork has been stolen. The Metropolitan Police confirmed they had received reports of a “stolen satellite dish containing artwork,” but no arrests have been made thus far.

Tom Kellow, a witness to the incident, described the scene as he observed the removal of the satellite dish. Kellow was on his lunch break when he saw a group of individuals using a ladder to detach the dish from its mount. As he attempted to film the removal, tensions escalated. One of the individuals kicked Kellow and another tried to throw his phone onto the roof. Fortunately, the phone landed in a tree and was retrieved. Kellow reported the incident to a nearby police officer, lamenting the short-lived presence of the artwork.

The stolen piece was part of a series of four new Banksy works that surfaced in London within a week. Each piece, characterized by its black silhouette style, aligns with an animal-themed series. On Wednesday, Banksy unveiled a mural of three monkeys appearing to swing on a railway bridge in Brick Lane, East London. The previous day, a depiction of two elephants with their trunks touching was posted on a house in Edith Terrace, Chelsea. The first artwork in this series featured a goat perched on a wall near Kew Bridge in Richmond, revealed on Monday.

The satellite dish in Rye Lane, now missing, was a new addition, as Google Maps did not show it being present before the artwork appeared. This rapid sequence of street art reveals reflects Banksy’s ongoing engagement with the public and his knack for surprising his audience. However, the swift removal of the latest piece underscores the precarious nature of street art and the challenges of preserving such ephemeral creations.