Banksy’s Giant Car Park rat appears again in Shoreditch

When Banksy’s giant rat first appeared in a car park yard in Shoreditch it heralded a return to him doing street work after a noticeable length of absence. It was the largest of several rats to appear – the other versions simply had a different head and no body. This one was rendered in full and included a few items that sparked discussion. In its right paw it’s holding what looks like a jigsaw blade and in it’s left what appears to be a three pronged implement. Possibly tools used for breaking into cars but no ones ever been sure. Also causing curiosity was the red circle around the eye, again never explained.

The artwork was taken off the wall and moved into storage while the construction of the new Artotel was underway. It was a stipulation of the planning permission that it had to be restored into view as part of the hotel before opening and so in early December 2023 it has been lifted into it’s final location, along with it’s sister artwork of a TV being thrown out of a window.

The TV being thrown out of the hotel window is something of a 70’s rock star cliche. It’s ironic that it was originally on a the wall of the old Foundry bank building that’s now been knocked down to make way for a…hotel. I should imagine there will be very little tolerance of this type of behaviour in the new establishment. The throwing of the TV out of the window can also be seen as having had enough of TV in general – there’s always something better to do!