banksy's ninth mural in nine days features animals escaping from london zoo

Banksy paints his latest mural on London Zoo gates

Mysterious street artist Banksy has confirmed his ninth animal-themed mural in London, as usual, by posting it on Instagram. The latest piece shows a gorilla lifting a curtain to let a sea lion and birds escape the London Zoo, while other animals watch from inside. This mural follows a series of animal-themed stencils, featuring a mountain goat, elephants, monkeys, a wolf, pelicans, piranhas, and a rhinoceros, spread across the UK capital. 

Banksy’s ninth animal-themed mural | image courtesy of Banksy

Is this Banksy’s final animal-themed artwork?

No one is sure why the elusive artist keeps decorating the streets of London with wild animals. The animal-themed artworks have appeared across various city locations, including building walls, a fish and chip shop sign, a police box, and a subway bridge. The ninth mural, featuring a gorilla freeing zoo animals, was unveiled at the London Zoo Gate, with followers, once again, sharing their interpretations in the comments. Most Instagram users agree that the mural conveys a powerful message about the importance of freedom and critiques the existence of zoos. Meanwhile, some speculate it could be Banksy’s final animal installment. ‘It’s like hitting the final note of a song that has been building momentum—it all suddenly makes sense,’ one user commented. 

Banksy’s eighth mural featured a rhinoceros mounting a car

Banksy’s seventh animal-themed artwork transformed a police box into a piranha-filled aquarium