1,2,3 Banksy safari in London

August 7, 2024 butterfly

Since the 5 August 2024, elusive artist Banksy has been treating London with some new stencil artworks accross the city.

On 5 August, off Kew Bridge in Richmond, a silhouette of a goat appeared on top of a ledge looking down cheekily at CCTV camera, with debris falling down the side of the building.

On 6 August a couple of elephants in separate rooms are facing each other in the district of Chelsea.

On 7 August, three monkeys are playfully balancing underneath the London overground bridge off Brick Lane in East London.

Update – 08 August 2024

On day 4 of his animal themed serie, Banksy unveiled a wolf howling on full moon, making a clever use of a satellite dish.

Located in Peckham Rye, South London, the sattelite dish with the artwork got stolen less than one hour after being confirmed by the artist.

Update 09/08

On this fifth day, Banksy unveiled an artwork of pelicans pinching fish from a London chip shop sign. Located on Bonners Fish Bar in Walthamstow, the artwork shows one bird stooping down to scoop up a fish on the takeaway’s sign, while another is tossing one in the air.

10/08/2024

Banksy has confirmed the sixth artwork in his new animal-themed collection across London, a silhouette of a panther on an empty, distressed billboard. The mural is located in Edgware Road, Cricklewood

11/08/2024

This time it’s in Ludgate, with another more elaborate style. It depicts piranhas swimming in a police entry box.

12/08/2024

Banksy is still on a roll, with a humorous stencil of a rhino strategically placed, looking as if it’s mounting a car with a traffic cone on its hood. It’s all about placement…

Located in Westmoors St, Charlton.

Image Banksy

13/08/2024

A ninth piece appeared on a white shutter at the London Zoo, with a gorilla depicted lifting its base the release birds and a seal, with more eyes glowing the darkness.

London, streets

Banksy GOAT in London

August 5, 2024 butterfly

A monochrome stencil artwork featuring a silouette of a goat perched on top of a wall appeared has been confirmed by elusive artist Banksy.

Located in Kew Bridge in Richmond, the piece shows the goat looking down cheekily at CCTV camera, with debris falling down the side of the building.

Since the artist did not write any caption on his Instagram post, the work is up to interpretation.

London, streets

Banksy new mural in London

March 17, 2024 butterfly

Elusive artist Banksy unveiled a new mural in Finsbury Park, North London on Saint Patrick’s day. Located in Hornsey Road, a social housing area, the council recently pruned a massive mature cherry tree, as part of their regular maintenance, and left it looking miserable.

Before Banksy mural – image courtesy of the artist

Using a pressure hose or fire extinguisher, Banksy painted a cascade of green colour on the façade of the nearby building, creating a trompe l’oeil effect. At the bottom the mural Banksy used a stencil to paint a lifesized person holding a pressure hose next to it. When stepping back, it looks like the tree is bursting to life.

Banksy’s attention to detail is noticeable with the green colour palette matching the one used by Islington Council for signs in the local area. This also helped him act unnoticed despite the bright green colour.

This fire extinguisher technique is a favourite amongst graffiti artists as it enables to cover large surfaces high and wide quickly without the need of a ladder or scaffholding.

Mural by Russian artist 0331© in Moscow, 2012

Local residents expressed joy and pride to the addition of this major cultural element to their streets.

Listen to the podcast on BBC with James Peak and Patrick Nguyen here

Placement and timing are key. A celebration of the green colour (perfect timing with Saint Patrick’s day), combined with a celebration of nature and the springtime season in full bloom.

Update 20.03.2024

Street art is ephemeral by nature.

The mural did not last long in its original state. Three days after unveiling the piece, the wall has received some white splash paint, as well as a little addition with a brick signature character by Ronzo. Can you spot it?

Art Fair, Venice

Venice Biennale 2024: ‘Foreigners Everywhere’

February 4, 2024 butterfly

The Venice Biennale has announced the 332 artists and collectives participating in the 60th Edition, running from April 20 to November 24.

Curated by Adriano Pedrosa, the artistic director of the Museu de Arte de São Paulo, the exhibition’ title “Stranieri Ovunque – Foreigners Everywhere,” is inspired by a series of neon works by the Palermo-based French artist collective Claire Fontaine.

Foreigners Everywhere (English), 2005
Courtesy of Claire Fontaine and Galerie Neu, Berlin

Pedrosa explained that the theme “Foreigners Everywhere” reflects the global crises related to people’s movement and existence across borders, and the complexities of language, translation, nationality, and disparities conditioned by race, identity, nationality, gender, sexuality, freedom, and wealth.

The list of participating artists includes emerging, mid-career, and established living artists including Beatriz Cortez, Yinka Shonibareas well as well-known historical and recently deceased artists such as Frida Kahlo, Diego Rivera and Carmen Herrera.

The Biennale will be divided into two parts: “Nucleo Contemporaneo” for contemporary work and “Nucleo Storico” for historical work.

The “Nucleo Contemporaneo” will explore an expansive definition of “foreigner,” including queer artists, outsider artists, self-taught artists, folk artists, popular artists, and Indigenous artists. First-time participants include the MAHKU—Movimento dos Artistas Huni Kuin collective from Brazil, the Mataaho Collective from Aotearoa (New Zealand), and three historical outsider female artists, Madge Gill, Anna Zemánková, among others.

Yinka Shonibare – Refugee Austronaut II (2016) Courtesy the Artist and James Cohan Gallery, New York / Photo Stephen White & Co. / © Yinka Shonibare CBE
Mataaho Collective – Takapau (2022) Photographs by Maarten Holl / Courtesy Te Papa

The “Nucleo Storico” will feature 112 artists focussing on “global modernisms and modernisms of the Global South,” with three sections dedicated to portraiture and representation, abstraction, and the Italian diaspora in the Global South.

The full list of 2024 invited artists can be downloaded here

The Exhibition will also include 90 National Participations in the historic Pavilions at the Giardini, at the Arsenale and in the city centre of Venice while the City of Venice will feature with its own pavilion, the Venice Pavilion, at the Giardini of Sant’Elena.

In parallel, a series of collateral events and special projects will take place in several locations around the city of Venice.

Purchase your tickets here

Paris, Shows

INVADER SPACE STATION in Paris

January 16, 2024 butterfly

Celebrating his 1500th piece in Paris at the top of Contemporary Art Museum Centre Pompidou, the French artist Invader is taking over an entire building in central Paris and transforming it into a space station: the INVADER SPACE STATION.

Located 11 rue Béranger (75003) in the former offices of the newspaper ‘Libération’ ( which were invaded by the artist back in 2011), the exhibition is curated by Fabrice Bousteau, editorial director of Beaux Arts Magazine.

This massive exhibition of 3500 m² accross nine floors will feature pictures, videos, sculptures and installations. So get ready to be invaded.