Banksy cat graffiti vanishes in hours, Londoners protest removal
Banksy's graffiti depicting a stretching cat quickly gained popularity. Unfortunately, the joy of the new artwork was short-lived, as it disappeared just a few hours after being discovered. Londoners are outraged and disappointed.
On Saturday, British street artist Banksy posted a photo of his latest work on Instagram. It is a graffiti of a stretching black cat.
The image was painted on a damaged billboard on Edgware Road in the Cricklewood district, where it quickly attracted crowds of street art enthusiasts. Unfortunately, London residents didn't have much time to enjoy this work.
Banksy's cat billboard removed in London
After just a few hours, workers responsible for dismantling the billboard arrived. According to information provided by the police, the billboard owner declared that he would donate the work to an art gallery, which may provide a new, safe home and allow it to be further displayed.
Police officers who arrived at the scene temporarily halted the billboard's dismantling to ensure the workers had all the necessary permits to carry out these tasks. After conducting the necessary checks, the officers allowed the team to continue the dismantling. Meanwhile, the crowd in the area expressed dissatisfaction with the decision, loudly protesting.
New Banksy works in London
The first graffiti depicting a goat appeared on Monday. Then, new Banksy works were discovered in various parts of the city each day. On Tuesday, the artist presented a mural depicting two elephants gently linking trunks.
On Wednesday, three monkeys painted on a bridge caught residents' attention. On Thursday, a howling wolf silhouette appeared, which can be seen on a satellite dish. Meanwhile, on Friday, a graphic showing two pelicans appeared on the sign of one of the bars, which seemed to be fishing from the sign itself.
The satellite dish with the wolf's image was removed from the rooftop of a building on Rye Lane in Peckham just a few hours after it was unveiled. A video quickly surfaced online showed two people dismantling and carrying the structure down the street. The police confirmed that they received reports of theft and are investigating the matter.
