Banksy Rats

39 different types of rats on the streets of the UK, most have been attributed directly to Banksy:

“I’d been painting rats for three years before someone said ‘that’s clever it’s an anagram of art’ and I had to pretend I’d known that all along.” Banksy, Wall and Piece.

Ashburton Grove, unusual because it has a signature in a colour matching the paint on the rat.

Paddington ‘No Ball Games’, cut out of the wall for resale.

Kensington Gardens, turned up for auction later

Shoreditch, this image was used as the flyer for Banksy’s show in Austria.

Camden, one of several ‘toxic spill’ rats around London

Shoreditch, with coincidental Police tape.

City of London, one of the longest survivors

Farringdon, a large scale addition

Fine dining in Shoreditch

Found on the streets of Liverpool

Moorgate, quickly removed

Whitechapel, cut out and kept by someone

East London, managed to survive a few years

Bond Street, appeared at the same time as Banksy works came up for auction at Sotheby’s

Hoxton, ironically cut out of the door

Old Street, maybe the largest ever, appeared after new Banksy work  had been absent from London for some time.

Shoreditch, first incarnation of the paparatzi rat.

Whitechapel, a really early piece that was chipped away at over the years.

South Bank, a real rat revolution that resist buffing for a while then finally succumbed.

Islington, a rare picture of this very early stencil

Victoria, several of these rats were also to be found penning slogans outside Tate Modern

Waterloo, unusually just a head which appeared in several locations

Whitecross Street, a ratpault photographed prior to receiving several additions.

Angel, a more sophisticated paparatzi

City Road, similar to a design that was completed near Green Park tube station

Camden, along the canal, one of four pieces painted at the same time

Fitzrovia, maybe the most detailed rat on the streets of London

Shoreditch, city gent

Southwark, also appeared as a giveaway stencil in a magazine

South Bank, this one originally had a circle drawn in front of it but this had worn away.

Shoreditch, another fella with a briefcase and umbrella

Westminster, lining up mortar fire opposite the Houses of Parliament

Old Street, another larger piece that was often missed by passers by.

Bethnal Green, part of a detonation sequence

Brighton, an off street version of this was given to an individual who returned the scales from Banksy’s Justice statue.

Brighton, down on the sea front outside the Grand Hotel

Brighton, never really been properly attributed

Brighton, a violin playing rat on the beach

Brighton, again never really been properly attributed but looks like a prototype of the ubiquitous placard rat.