Banksy unveils third artwork in as many days in London after goat and elephant paintings earlier this week

August 7, 20246 Mins Read

A new Banksy artwork of monkeys has appeared in London just days after elephant and goat paintings were discovered in the capital.

The painting, which shows three monkeys swinging from a railway bridge, popped up in Brick Lane and follows two others in South London this week – one near Kew Bridge in Richmond and another in Chelsea.

One goat appeared on Monday, two elephants on Tuesday and three monkeys today, meaning a fourth painting would likely show four animals.

The elusive artist confirmed the monkey mural was his on Instagram but did not caption the post, fuelling speculation about its meaning.

Three monkeys have been associated with the Japanese proverb ‘see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil’. In Banksy’s work the monkeys are not covering their eyes, ears or mouths.

It has been sprayed black, near a vintage clothing shop and a coffee house in the popular market street, not far from Shoreditch High Street.

The painting, which shows three monkeys swinging from a railway bridge, popped up in Brick Lane

Another new artwork, confirmed to be by Banksy, was unveiled on a wall of a house in Chelsea, London this week

Banksy posted artwork of a goat perched on top of a wall near Kew Bridge in Richmond on Monday

The elusive artist confirmed the piece was his on Instagram but did not caption the post, fuelling speculation about its meaning

On Tuesday the Bristol-based artist posted a photo of two elephant silhouettes with their trunks stretched towards each other in Chelsea.

He also posted artwork of a goat perched on top of a wall near Kew Bridge on Monday.

Fans of Banksy took to social media today to share their delight at the artist’s new addition. One said: ‘Banks is clearly just making the Zoo in London right now.’

Another added: ‘Didn’t disappoint, knew there’d be a day 3!’

Banksy did not write a caption for any of his recent posts which has caused fans to question the meaning of the three artworks – with some saying the piece in Chelsea could be a reference to ‘elephants in the room’.

Speaking of the elephants in Chelsea, Josh Rendell, who is Kensington and Chelsea Council’s councillor for Stanley ward, told MailOnline: ‘We’re already lucky enough to have a Banksy in the north of the borough on Portobello Road, so it’s amazing that the great Banksy has now come to Chelsea too.

‘It’s private property so we’re reaching out to the owner on how we might be able to work with them to protect it.’

On Monday, footage captured by CCTV cameras showed the moment Banksy climbed into a cherry picker wearing a face mask and hard hat as he prepared to paint the Kew Bridge artwork.

On Tuesday the Bristol-based artist posted a photo of two elephant silhouettes with their trunks stretched towards each other in Chelsea

Some are saying the piece in Chelsea could be a reference to ‘elephants in the room’

People look at the the new Banksy piece of artwork near Kew Bridge of a goat on a wall

Employees move a CCTV camera back to its original position after Banksy moved it

Another Banksy mural appeared by Kew Bridge in London this week

Two men are seen in the back of the cherry picker van in Kew Bridge early in the morning this week

Footage captured by CCTV showed a cherry picker van with two men dressed in orange high-vis clothing and helmets – one of whom is believed to be Banksy – in Kew Bridge on Monday

One of the men in Kew Bridge, who is masked (right), is believed to be elusive artist Banksy

In March, the artist created a tree mural near Finsbury Park in North London, which saw a tree cut back with green paint sprayed behind it to give the impression of foliage

The tree mural near Finsbury Park was sabotaged by people who threw white paint at it

Banksy’s Sweep It Under the Carpet mural, which appeared in 2006 in Chalk Farm, London

Banksy’s piece Valentine’s Day Mascara appeared on a house in Margate in February 2023

Banksy’s work ‘ Love Is In The Bin’ self-destructed in Sotheby’s, London, in 2018

How Banksy was unmasked as Robin Gunningham, a public schoolboy from Bristol

Banksy’s true identity was revealed as Robin Gunningham by a Mail On Sunday investigation in 2008 which reported that he is a former public schoolboy from Bristol.

The newspaper published a photograph taken in Jamaica in 2004 showing a man with a bag of spray cans by his feet – which was identified as Mr Gunningham.

Banksy is also believed to have gone by the name Robin Banks, and in 2017 the DJ Goldie referred to him in an interview on the Distraction Pieces podcast as ‘Rob’.

And a BBC Radio 4 podcast called The Banksy Story out last year included a recording from 2003 when the artist was asked whether his name was ‘Robert Banks’, he replies: ‘It’s Robbie.’

Footage showed a van with two men dressed in orange high-vis clothing and helmets.

One of the men, who is masked, is believed to have been Banksy, famed for his politically themed works.

Accompanied by a friend, he was seen in the back of the cherry picker with the two locked in conversation.

The footage was captured at about 5am yesterday.

A painting showing a goat balancing on top of some masonry appeared on the exterior wall of an engineering company near Kew Bridge that morning.

Bosses from Boss & Co, which builds exclusive guns, told MailOnline they noticed the new artwork when they arrived for work.

An official said: ‘We noticed the artwork first thing in the morning and assumed it must be a Banksy.

‘Then we checked our security footage and saw the two men.

‘They then pushed our security camera up and you can’t see them after that.

‘It happened around 5am and they were there for about half an hour.’

The painting of the elephant was painted on a building owned by Shabir Chowdhary, the managing partner of an asset management company RYSE.

The silhouette of a goat was painted on top of a ledge with rocks falling down below it, and appears on the exterior wall of exclusive gunmakers Boss & Co.

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