LONDON — Workers arriving at the London Zoo early Tuesday were surprised to discover an unexpected exhibit that suggested the animals were being set free. A mural by elusive street artist Banksy showed a gorilla holding up the entrance gate as birds took flight and a sea lion waddled away. Three sets of eyes peered out from the darkness inside.
A new mural by elusive street artist Banksy is seen at the London Zoo, Tuesday, Aug. 13, 2024, in London. The painting may explain why Bansky-created creatures — from a mountain goat perched on a building buttress to piranhas circling a police guard post to a rhinoceros mounting a car — have been showing up in the most unlikely places around London for nine straight days.
A man photographs a new artwork unveiled by Banksy, depicting a rhinoceros which looks as though it is climbing on top of a car, the eighth artwork in his animal-themed collection, on Westmoor Street in Charlton, south east London, Monday, Aug. 12, 2024. Each of the works posted on Banksy's Instagram page have included a London Zoo hashtag, said Dan Simmonds, animal operations manager at the zoo.
But he didn't imagine the artist would decorate the zoo's own doorway. “Part of the enigma of Banksy is obviously that everything is a surprise,” Simmonds said. “We certainly didn’t expect it was actually going to happen right here, on one of our huge admission shutters.
But coming in and seeing it, kind of realized that, yeah, we’re so lucky.” The new artwo.