Banksy ’s latest artwork of a rhino, which looks as though it is mounting a car , was defaced after a few hours of being unveiled. The artwork, depicting the silhouette of a rhino mounting a silver Nissan Micra with a traffic cone on its bonnet, had appeared on Westmoor Street in Charlton, south east London . The piece was spray painted by a man wearing a black balaclava, who had an accomplice waiting by the side of the road at around 19.
45BST, reported the BBC . A witness who spoke to the BBC said a “random youth” in a black balaclava “brazenly walked up and defaced the installation with a graffiti tag”. “The whole incident took place within less than 30 seconds before he disappeared with another male accomplice further down the road.
” Banksy had confirmed the piece as his with an Instagram post – usually how he claims his artwork – on 12 August. This piece was Banksy’s eighth artwork in his animal-themed collection, with past pieces showing silhouettes of a goat, elephants, monkeys, a wolf, pelicans, a cat and fish, all of which had popped up in various locations across London . Barriers have been put up around his seventh piece – swimming piranhas painted on a City of London Police sentry box.
A City of London Corporation spokesperson said in a statement to PA: “We’re aware of the works on the City of London police box on Ludgate Hill. “We are currently working through options to preserve the artwork.” On Thursday, one of the pieces – a howl.