Banksy has unveiled a ninth artwork of a gorilla at London Zoo today as the artist’s run of animal-themed paintings continues.
The new mural was painted on a white shutter at the zoo, and appears to show a gorilla lifting its base to release birds and a seal.
Murals by the elusive artist have popped up around London over the last few days, with one new piece appearing every day since August 5.
The new mural, located on a shutter at the zoo’s entrance, ties in to previous pieces, with different animals scattered around the city.
Banksy’s last piece, a rhino mounting a silver Nissan Micra with a traffic cone on its bonnet, was defaced by a man wearing a black balaclava just hours after it went up.
Located in Charlton’s Westmoor Street, the rhino piece was revealed yesterday, with a video obtained by BBC News showing a man walking up to the artwork and spray painting it, leaving a white tag on it.
The new Banksy mural has been painted on a white shutter at London Zoo, and appears to show a gorilla lifting its base to release birds and a seal
The new Gorilla mural is located on a shutter at the zoo’s entrance
Banksy’s rhino mural from yesterday was vandalised shortly after it was discovered
The rhino mural from yesterday was vandalised shortly after it was discovered
The pelicans appeared above Bonners Fish Bar in Walthamstow, north-east London, last Friday
Banksy first posted artwork of a goat perched on top of a wall near Kew Bridge in Richmond, south-west London, on Monday last week
Another new artwork showing two elephants, confirmed to be by Banksy, was unveiled on a wall of a house in Chelsea in west London last Tuesday
On Wednesday, Banksy confirmed that the three monkeys looking as though they were swinging underneath a bridge over Brick Lane, east London, as the third artwork in the series
An artwork showing the silhouette of a wolf howling appeared on a rooftop in Peckham, south London, last Thursday – the fourth piece in the animal-themed series of murals
Within hours of its unveiling, a hooded man with a mask was seen holding the satellite dish while standing on top of the building – and the wolf artwork’s whereabouts are now unknown
On Saturday, a large cat silhouette was sprayed onto an abandoned billboard in Cricklewood, appearing to show the animal stretching and scratching at a broken part of the wood
Yesterday, he confirmed he was behind a new swimming fish artwork which has appeared on a police sentry box in the City of London
Banksy has been posting artwork to his Instagram around 1pm every day since August 5.
The rhino follows Sunday’s piece, piranhas on a police sentry box, which has now been removed from near London’s Old Bailey court to preserve it.
The anonymous artist appeared to have used translucent spray paint to turn the box into a giant fish tank for the piece which appeared on Ludgate Hill before being taped off by the local council.
The glass-paned box will be kept temporarily by the City of London Corporation’s offices, a walk of less than 15 minutes from the previous location.
A spokesman for the authority said: ‘We have moved the artwork to Guildhall Yard to ensure it is properly protected and open for the public to view safely.
‘A permanent home for the piece will be decided in due course.’
Banksy’s first piece was a goat perched on top of a wall and has been followed by silhouettes of elephants, monkeys, a wolf, pelicans, and a cat, all of which have popped up in various locations across London.
The sixth piece, a stretching cat on an empty, distressed advertising hoarding, was removed from its location in north-west London hours after it was unveiled on Saturday.
Crowds booed as the piece in Cricklewood was dismantled by three men who said they were ‘hired’ by a ‘contracting company’ to take down the billboard for safety reasons.
Onlookers captured how Banksy’s rhino mural was vandalised in Charlton, south-east London
A balaclava-clad man was seen spraypainting a ‘tag’ on to the artwork unveiled on Monday
The mural of a gorilla freeing animals is one a wall at London Zoo
People take photos of the new Banksy mural showing a gorilla freeing animals
The cat design was the second piece to be removed last week after a howling wolf on a satellite dish was taken off the roof of a building in Peckham, south London, less than an hour after it was unveiled.
A spokesperson for Banksy said that the artist was neither connected to nor endorsed the theft of the wolf artwork and that they had ‘no knowledge as to the dish’s current whereabouts’.
The fifth piece to be unveiled was on Bonners Fish Bar in Walthamstow, east London, and shows a pelican stooping to scoop up a fish on the takeaway’s sign, while another is tossing one in the air.
The fish and chip shop had announced in July that it would close from August 1 until September 5, and a message on its Instagram page expressed their gratitude at the artwork.
It said: ‘The last few days have been a whirlwind, thank you to all who have sent such kind words, comments and messages.
‘We’re so sorry if we haven’t replied, as you can imagine it’s been extremely overwhelming!
‘We’re over the moon that Banksy decided to choose our little fish and chip shop in wonderful Walthamstow and love the design.
‘Contrary to some beliefs, we didn’t ask him to do this, but are very grateful he did!’