Photos have captured the dramatic moment Banksy’s latest piece of art work was stolen at a junction in south east London just hours after being put up.
The masterpiece – a painting of three planes perched on a stop sign – was unveiled in Peckham earlier today, where Southampton Way and Commercial Way meet.
The photos of the new piece were captured on Friday, December 22 – but hours after it was put up, incredible pictures show it being nicked by a man in a red jacket and black trousers. Meanwhile a second man, wearing all black, can be seen standing next to him holding on to a Lime bike and a carrier bag.
Banksy uploaded a series of photos to his 12.2 milllion Instagram followers this morning, with no caption or expanation, as is standard procedure.
Fans took to social media to praise the new work, but many speculated on its fate. One pre-emptively said: “This sign will be stolen within the next few hours.”
A second added: “That sign will be snatched pronto.” While a third chimed in: “Hoping that stop sign will stay there for a while.”
It’s not the first piece Banksy has unveiled in 2023, with his pieces this year including Valentine’s Day Mascara, a mural weighing 3.8 tonnes, which appeared on the side of a house in Margate, Kent, on February 14.
The mural, taking inspiration from the 1950s, showed a housewife with a swollen eye and missing tooth, wearing an apron and yellow washing-up gloves, and throwing a man into a chest freezer.
In September it was placed in the foyer of The Art of Banksy exhibition in central London#s Regen Street – where it can be viewed for free by art fans.
The iconic artist often refers to contemporary issues and in 2020 included messages about the coronavirus pandemic in his work. Transport for London (TfL) removed spray paint in a London Underground carriage due to what they called their “strict anti-graffiti policy”.
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