Banksy's Summer Safari: A Wave of Animal Murals Across London

In August 2024, Banksy turned London into a guessing game. For nine consecutive days the anonymous street artist unveiled a new animal mural somewhere in the capital — a mountain goat teetering on a ledge, elephants reaching from windows, swinging monkeys, a pelican, a stretching cat, and finally a gorilla lifting the shutter of London Zoo.

Each morning, crowds and camera phones descended on the latest location before the works could be defaced or, in several cases, hastily removed for safekeeping. Theories about the meaning flew — escape, freedom, the wild reclaiming the city.

Banksy never fully explained the series, of course. The mystery is the medium. But for nine days the whole city looked up, looked closer, and went hunting for art.

Image: “Banksy statue in London” — APK, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.