Banksy London safari – London Zoo’s animal escape
Day 1 – Mountain goat on Kew Bridge, South West London
Banksy’s London safari.
5th August. Out of nowhere a mountain goat or more technically an Alpine Ibex appeared on the side of a building adjacent to Kew Bridge. Standing precariously atop of a pillar, with dislodged rocks tumbling down, the image was tantalisingly called ‘day-1’ on Banksy’s website. This led to questions being asked on whether this was the first in a series. Or was it just that it was taken in daylight? Speculation immediately started on what, if anything, would happen next.
Current status: Still in place but under perspex.
Location link: Junction of Kew Green road and Kew Bridge (A205)
Day 2 Two elephants reaching for each other in Chelsea, West London
6th August. With two elephants by Banksy appearing on the second day in a pair of windows in Chelsea the idea of a continuing series had really taken hold. Just as with the first image, wild theories began to circulate about the meaning of it all. Already people were speculating what day 3 would bring. Three animals?
Current status: Still in situ, elephant on the left has had white stripes painted over it
Location link: Junction of Edith Grove and Edith Terrace, Chelsea
Day 3 Three monkeys on a bridge over Brick Lane, East London
7th August. Day 3 seemed to confirm the sequence with three monkeys by Banksy appearing as swinging across the rail bridge above Brick Lane. All three works seemed to have been installed using a ‘cherry picker lift truck. Indeed an image had appeared of the mountain goat from day one being installed. The thing about the sequence was, with an animal added being every day, what would this all look like by day 10?’
Current status: Still in situ, now under perspex
Location link: Shoreditch High Street station rail bridge, Brick Lane
Day 4 Howling wolf on a satellite dish in Peckham, South London
8th August. Day four cleverly broke the 1,2, 3 sequence. Just when people thought they knew what was going on, a lone howling wolf appeared on a satellite dish above a disused shop in Peckham Rye. This one didn’t last long with a group of four enterprising individuals rocking up with a ladder and a set of tools to dislodge and remove the piece within half an hour of its announcement.
Current status: Removed, location unknown
Original location link: Rye Lane, Peckham
Day 5 Pelicans stealing fish from a fish and chip shop in Walthamstow, North East London
9th August. Day five and we’re heading to Bonners – what seems like a fairly random fish and chip shop in Walthamstow which happens to have a couple of fish incorporated into its sign. A pair of pelicans are seen helping themselves to presumably hard to find fish and a new theory develops that the sequence is now 1,2,3,1,2,3. The shop owners were on their annual break at the time of painting but had perspex applied within a few days.
Current status: Still in situ, now under Perspex
Location link: Bonners Fish Bar, Walthamstow
Day 6 Big cat scratching a billboard in Cricklewood, North West London
10th August. Day six and a big cat is spotted stretching / scratching on a decaying billboard in Cricklewood, North West London. With a couple of attempts to remove or deface the artwork in just a few hours, the owner of the billboard suddenly took an interest and sent a team to take the structure down, citing concerns over the safety of the hoardings. The Police had turned up in the meantime and initially prevented the work taking place whilst they checked out the removal team’s story. It was soon taken away section by section and Cricklewood’s claim to fame was dumped onto the back of a lorry and driven off.
Current status: Removed, location unknown
Original location link: A5 Cricklewood, near Gladstone Park Gardens
Day 7 Pirahna fish in City of London Police box fish tank, Central London
11th August. Day seven sees maybe the most audacious placement and the most detailed level of artwork of the entire series to date. A City of London Police box was transformed into an aquarium of piranha fish in Ludgate Hill, just down the road from St Pauls Cathedral. Quite how this was done in what is supposed to be one of the most watched places on earth will need to be answered but the box itself turned out to be owned by the Corporation of London rather than the Police so it was whisked away within 48 hours to go on temporary display at the nearby Guildhall.
Status: Removed and now on temporary display in London’s Guildhall (check before travelling)
Original Location: Ludgate Hill, City of London
Day 8 Rhino mounting a Nissan Micra in Charlton, South East London
12th August. Day eight and an industrial estate in Charlton, South East London is the destination for the sight of a rhino mistakenly mounting a cone adorned Nissan Micra. As with nearly all the other pieces its story evolved rapidly. A local construction firm soon added advertising around it, then the Micra was removed and replaced with a skip before the piece was tagged and quickly perspexed.
Current status: Just the rhino remains, tagged and under perspex
Location link: Westmoor Street, Charlton
Day 9 Animals escaping from London Zoo, North London
13th August – Day nine sees the final piece of the puzzle revealed as we learn where all the animals gracing all corners of London have come from. A gorilla has appeared overnight wrenching up the shutter of London zoo’s main entrance gate whilst a menagerie of animals make their escape. The zoo’s social media team quickly see this as a positive story for themselves and seem delighted with their new addition – even though it is seen by others as a critique of keeping animals in captivity.
In some sections of the media and online some of the images in the series were referred to sniffily as ‘simple’ and worse but this completely misses a key part of part of Banksy’s art – context and placement. This series hit all points of the compass around London, finding untouched locations, and then using a variety of methods including scouting, cherry pickers, stealth and brazeness, wit and humour to make their mark. Add up everything involved and it really is an incredible body of work, all completed in nine days.
Banksy himself never answers the question about what the series was about other than his statement by his Pest Control Office team to the Observer that “his intention with the project is to bring cheer to the public mood with uplifting and surprising moments of joy or amusement, with an emphasis on humans’ capacity for creativity rather than destruction”. It’s certainly done that!
Current status: The shutter has been removed and taken inside the zoo for display
Original Location link: On the central entrance shutter to London Zoo.
