A new mural by Banksy appeared in London’s Finsbury Park on Sunday. The piece, on a white wall behind a real cherry tree with severed branches and missing leaves, features a figure holding a pressure hose sprayed green to represent the missing foliage. This latest work from the elusive artist was confirmed on his Instagram account on Monday.
The mural has been interpreted as a harsh commentary on environmental degradation. Jeremy Corbyn, the former leader of the Labor Party who has represented Islington North in Parliament since 1983, told the Associated Press that the new work “makes people stop and think, ‘Wait. We live in one world. We live in one environment. It’s vulnerable and it’s about to be seriously damaged.’ Banksy’s last confirmed work was found in South London in December 2023: a stop sign with three military drones. Soon after, a man was photographed removing the work with bolt cutters.
In recent years, the demand for Banky’s work has not stopped growing, both his auction record and the ever-increasing print market. In 2018, Girl with balloon (2006) fetched £1 million ($1.4 million) at Sotheby’s before being partially destroyed by a crusher hidden in the painting. Then, in 2021, the work partially shredded, retitled Love is in the trash (2018), resold at Sotheby’s for nearly 20 times its pre-destroyed price at £18.6 million ($25.4 million), setting the artist’s current auction record.
