A green-hued Banksy mural recently appeared in North London. This self-referential mural, on Hornsey Road in Finsbury Park, includes only green paint depicted on a blank wall. The mural, when observed from the correct angle, offers leaves for a barren cherry tree that stands in a small grassland area. Also, its leaves seem brutally cut, making it appear stunted.
Dozens of People Showed Up at the Location
The work of art has a stencilled life-size figure seated on the ground with a spray can. It appears that they have just finished painting the foliage and are staring up at their work. The artist‘s studio typically uses social media to validate new murals by sharing pictures of them. The artist just posted a picture to Instagram of the wall and tree before the greenery got added. The photographer was obviously present before to the mural’s appearance because the post cleverly contains before-and-after pictures.
To view the street artist’s most recent creation, dozens of people ended up swarming to the location. “It feels like a personal message to us residents, we just feel so proud”, Wanja Sellers, who lives along the street from the mural said. According to James Peak, who produced a BBC radio series about the artist, the green is the same colour as local signage so that “it looks like the tree is bursting to life, but in a noticeably fake and synthetic way”.
Local politician Flora Williamson told the BBC it was “incredible” to have a Banksy artwork “right in the middle of social housing and one of the poorest parts of the borough. I think it adds intrigue and culture and brings the area to life”. According to reports, the local council is aware of the artwork and will not have it removed, unlike when it removes unapproved graffiti.
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A Green-Hued Banksy Mural Represents Renewal
The composition surfaced not just a few days prior to Spring’s arrival, implying a message of renewal. But the mural also arrived on St. Patrick’s Day, so the green colour reminds of Britain’s northern neighbour. Former Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn, who represents the area in Parliament, also said a few words about the piece.
The artwork “makes people stop and think, ‘Hang on. We live in one world. We live in one environment. It is vulnerable and on the cusp of serious damage being done to it”. The muralist gained notoriety a year ago in Kent, a seaside region of the United Kingdom, with creating another mural. But, this artwork was nearly instantly destroyed when the run-down farmhouse where it first emerged was demolished by construction workers.
In a recent lawsuit filed by the greeting card firm Full Colour Black, there has been conjecture that the artist, who has astonishingly been secret since he began creating murals in 1997, may divulge his identity.