Banksy has unveiled his second animal artwork in 24 hours, showing two elephants reaching towards each other from blocked-out windows.
The artist verified his latest work in an Instagram post on Tuesday, with the mural painted on the side of a house in Chelsea, south-west London.
On Monday he revealed a piece portraying a goat perching on top of a wall near Kew Bridge in Richmond upon Thames. The image depicts a silhouette of a goat on top of a ledge with rocks falling down below it and a CCTV camera pointed towards the animal.
Banksy left no comment on his social media posts, leading people to begin theorising on any potential symbolism, from the threat of extinction to lack of privacy.
The two London artworks follow the artist’s migrant boat creation, which was crowdsurfed at Glastonbury in June.
The former home secretary James Cleverly described the stunt as “trivialising” small boat crossings and “vile”, but the artist responded by saying his reaction was a “a bit over the top”.
In March, Banksy created a tree mural in north London, which featured a cut-back tree with green paint sprayed behind it to give the impression of foliage. The paint colour matched that of Islington council’s street signs in the area.
Banksy’s artwork, which often offers political and social commentary, has appeared in public spaces across the globe. His identity remains unknown.
