Anonymous British street artist Banksy has confirmed on his Instagram account that he is behind the graffiti that was first spotted in Finsbury Park in London, The Guardian reports.
In the artwork, a female figure appears to have sprayed green paint on a white wall behind a tree, creating the effect of an optical illusion of greenery from afar.
Banksy, who has never been officially identified, shared "before and after" photos on Instagram.
The artist did not caption the post, prompting multiple theories about the graffiti's significance.
Some people thought it was a message of hope amid the climate crisis, which Banksy, who is originally from Bristol in southwest England, has used his artwork in multiple previous instances.
Others suggested it was a pessimistic view of the environment or a comment on greenwashing, a tactic the United Nations defines on its website as "misleading the public into believing that a company or other entity is doing more to protect the environment than it actually is."
Documentarian James Peake, the creator of the BBC radio series "The Banksy Story," said the message is "clear" that "nature is struggling and it's up to us to help it recover."
"So when you step back, it looks like the tree has come to life, but in a noticeably fake and synthetic way," he told the broadcaster. "And that's pretty subtle for a massive tree, I would say." /BGNES
