some sort of Banksy retrospective
Team Banksy posted the image on Instagram around 3 pm on Monday, 16 December. Through the years, Banksy has created various renditions of the Virgin Mary and Child Jesus motif. This version on a galvanised steel plate is superb.
The ‘Madonna with Child’ was initially displayed at a private exhibition organised by Pest Control Office in London in February 2024:
It’s not the first time Banksy mixes biblical references with politics at Christmas time:
Steve Lazarides undoubtedly has played a significant role in Banksy’s career, both as his agent during his most defining period from 2002 to 2008 and as his photographer. The 30-minute documentary/interview is part of the promotion for an upcoming auction at Julien’s in Los Angeles, where Lazarides is selling a chunk of his unique Banksy collection.
The auction catalogue has some spectacular pieces—original drawings, sketches, handwritten notes, proof screen prints, etc. Here is the link to the auction:
https://www.juliensauctions.com/en/auctions/under-duress-the-banksy-archive-of-steve-lazarides-565
Now we know where all the animals came from. The animal kingdom series obviously has a lot to do with the summer riots in London in the previous weeks. One can discern a stoic approach: nature is the only true force, and when you encounter adversity, face it with resilience, humour, and a charitable spirit.
BBC News did a feature on the Animal Kingdom series:
The second week of the Animal Kingdom series starts with a life-size rhino mounting a Nissan Micra with a cone on the bonnet. Old-school Banksy. This is getting better every day!
The piranhas appeared on Sunday morning at a police box near St. Paul’s Cathedral, in the City of London. As expected, Banksy confirmed the piece at 1 p.m. sharp on his Instagram.
The leopard is doing the morning stretch while sharpening the claws on a scratching post. Someone might say it’s a panther, but isn’t the panther just a leopard with black fur?
Anyway, there are quite a few leopards in the Banksy imagery:
Banksy’s handling office, Pest Control, issued a statement on the meaning of the London series of animals:
“The artist’s vision is simple: the latest street art has been designed to cheer up the public during a period when the news headlines have been bleak, and light has often been harder to spot than shade. Banksy’s hope, it is understood, is that the uplifting works cheer people with a moment of unexpected amusement, as well as to gently underline the human capacity for creative play, rather than for destruction and negativity. Some recent theorising about the deeper significance of each new image has been way too involved, Banksy’s support organisation, Pest Control Office, has indicated.”
Banksy confirmed the two pelicans at Bonners Fish Bar in Walthamstow with British punctuality, 1 p.m. sharp. The novelty of today’s piece is that it’s not monochromatic; they’ve employed a few spray-strokes of white in the pelican beak.
This is the fourth day of some kind of series, and we don’t really know how it’s going to unfold. Very exciting!! Like previous days, it’s a one-colour, one-layer stencil of creatures from the Animal Kingdom trapped in the urban landscape. The timing of the posts is also worth mentioning: it’s always 1 p.m. sharp on his Instagram, @banksy.
Banksy continues his London residency with three graceful monkeys underneath the Overground bridge at Brick Lane, not far from the Truman Brewery Markets.
There have been plenty of monkeys in Banksy’s past; here are a few early ones:
Banksy confirmed yet another piece from the Animal Kingdom on his Instagram around 1 p.m. on Tuesday. The exact address is 10 Edith Terrace in Chelsea, a few hundred meters east of Stamford Bridge. Could the elephants be the second piece in a series that started yesterday?
Banksy’s first elephant in the room at Barely Legal in Los Angeles, September 2006:
Banksy unofficial 