Street artist Banksy claimed his ninth, and possibly final, mural in his animal-themed art trail across London on Tuesday. The artwork, located on the shutters of the city's zoo, features a gorilla freeing a sea lion and birds. The series commenced with a mountain goat on Monday and continued with eight other pieces, such as three monkeys dangling from a railway bridge, a wolf silhouette on a satellite dish, and two pelicans above a fish and chip shop.
The zoo mural depicts a gorilla lifting a metal shutter to liberate birds and a sea lion. Banksy has shared images of all his murals on his Instagram account. According to the BBC, citing Banksy's team, the gorilla artwork marks the end of the series. The artist's team did not respond promptly to a request for comment from Reuters.
London Zoo staff were delighted to discover the latest mural on their premises, and many onlookers have stopped to appreciate and photograph it, according to zoo media manager Rebecca Blanchard. "This is bringing so many smiles to people's faces this morning," Blanchard remarked while standing in front of the mural. She noted that the zoo is yet to decide its fate but is "definitely keeping it and preserving it."
Blanchard suggested that the artwork might be the "grand finale" of what she called an "incredible series celebrating animals." Social media has been abuzz with theories about the meaning of these works, which follow themes Banksy has previously explored, such as war and climate change. Some speculate the murals could be related to recent riots and racist attacks, while others connect them to the notion of humanity's self-destructive tendencies.
