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- By Doug Faulkner and Alex Smith
- bbc news
Image source, James Peak/The Banksy Story
The mural has been painted to look like tree foliage.
Crowds have gathered at the site of an artwork in north London believed to be by street artist Banksy.
The mural, a mass of green paint sprayed on a wall behind a tree trimmed to look like foliage, with a stencil of a person holding a pressure hose next to it, appeared Sunday.
It has not yet been confirmed by the artist as his.
One local, who lives in Finsbury Park, said he was “proud and delighted” that his street had been chosen.
“For us residents, it’s like a personal message, we feel very proud,” said Wanja Sellers, who lives a few doors down from the mural.
It appeared on Hornsey Road in Finsbury Park, north London, on Sunday morning.
Image source, Ella Nunn/PA Cable
Streams of people have come to see the artwork since it first appeared.
“In my opinion, it looks like a dead certificate,” he said.
“But as always with Banksy, you never really know until he confesses by posting it on his website.”
The elusive artist officially confirms his work by posting photographs on his website and social media, something that has not yet been done with the Finsbury tree. The BBC has contacted Banksy’s team for comment.
But documentary maker Peak said the artwork “certainly bears all the hallmarks” of a Banksy.
“It’s got the right techniques, it certainly has an easy-to-understand message, very clever placement and it really resonates the moment you see it.”
“The message is clear,” he said. “Nature is struggling and it’s up to us to help it grow again.”
Image source, James Peak/The Banksy Story
The color used for the artwork is the same as the Islington Town Hall signs, as seen in the foreground.
Peak said: “If you go back to the beginning of your work, you’re always looking for something you can do with minimal effort to make something look really cool.”
He added that the mural – a “large arterial stream of green paint” on a white wall, accompanied by a “classic Banksy-style stencil” – would likely have been created using a pressure hose or a fire extinguisher.
The green paint color matches that used by Islington Council for signs in the local area, which Peak said showed Banksy’s eye for detail.
“When you step back, the tree seems to come to life, but in a remarkably fake and synthetic way.
“It’s spring now and this tree should be full of leaves, but Banksy must have cycled by and thought how miserable it looks,” he said.
“So, on St Patrick’s Day, he took the exact same shade of green that Islington Council uses for its traffic signs and used a pressure hose or fire extinguisher to spray the leaves again, onto the rather ramshackle wall behind “.
And, speaking to BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, Peak said that by incorporating a tree into the artwork, the artist has “solved an emerging problem” of people trying to steal Banksy’s work.
“I don’t think anyone could steal this…how are you going to steal a tree?”
Image source, James Peak/The Banksy Story
The mural generated a lot of intrigue over the weekend, with “a lot of people hanging around” on Sunday afternoon, Peak said.. “Everyone is very excited.”
While looking at the art, he met Islington councilor Flora Williamson while she was canvassing.
Williamson said it was “amazing” to potentially have a Banksy artwork “right in the middle of social housing and in one of the poorest areas of the borough”.
“I think it adds intrigue and culture and brings life to the area,” he said.
Peak said there was often a “Banksy effect” that had been seen in places such as Port Talbot and Norfolk when artwork appeared there, with people rushing to take photographs of the murals.
It was still “causing a real stir” on Monday morning, according to BBC Radio London reporter Anna O’Neill, with at least 30 people there to view the artwork at a time.
One of them was Finsbury Park resident Aileen, who said that when she first walked past the mural on Sunday she immediately thought “it must be a Banksy”.
Another, Lidia Guerra, who lives on Hornsey Road, said she feels “very proud to have chosen our street.”
“It’s just great…we knew we had to come see it as soon as possible.”
Meanwhile, podcast host Sally Flatman said she came to see the artwork after hearing about it on the radio.
“To me, it speaks to how valuable green spaces are and how we need more of them in our urban areas.”
Locals also took to social media following the appearance of the artwork.
One said: “Banksy came overnight and now my rent is going to skyrocket.”
While another said: “Proud new caretakers of an apparent new Banksy piece in Finsbury Park… Woke up this morning to find it on the side of the flat.”