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First came the mountain goat, then a pair of elephants and on the third day, a trio of monkeys. These aren’t the words to a nursery rhyme or parable, they’re the latest series of London murals by elusive street artist Banksy.
Yesterday (August 7) the artist claimed ownership of a spray-painted silhouette of three monkeys that appeared swinging along a bridge in east London. The silhouette is in the same style as the goat and elephants that came before it earlier this week.
There’s been a lot of speculation about what the animal-themed paintings might mean, and given it's the third one to crop up in the capital this week, we'd hedge our bets on another one appearing today.
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Where is the new Banksy in London?
You can find the monkeys swinging along a bridge at the end of Brick Lane, just down from Shoreditch High Street Station.
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The mountain goat appeared on the side of a building near Kew Bridge in Richmond and the elephants are on the corner of a house in Chelsea.
What does the new mural represent?
As with his other pieces, the artist uploaded the three monkeys to Instagram without a caption – making it hard to know exactly what they mean. There certainly looks like there’s a puzzle here but your guess is good as ours, but the BBC has pointed out that three monkeys are often associated with the Japanese proverb: ‘See no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil’.
What’s been said about the artwork so far?
Some social media users are saying we should prepare ourselves for ‘something massive’ from the artist following the reveal of his third piece. Others have joked he’s painting his own zoo across the city, while there’s also been suggestions of a climate-themed angle in his work, with the animals being forced to live in a concrete jungle.
‘We had one job. Keep Mother Earth safe and alive’, said one user, while another comment said the monkeys are a reminder about nature and other species needing to live together.
Banksy’s Britain
The world’s most famous street artist has left his mark all over the UK. Here’s a map of where you can find all of his surviving pieces in London and another guide to seeing his art across the country.
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