A goat, two elephants and now three monkeys: British street artist Banksy thrilled his fans in London by installing his third new work in three days, AFP reported.
The collection of animal-themed drawings has sparked speculation about their message. Were they created as a criticism of the riots in England or possibly in support of the Palestinians? Maybe they're referring to global warming or even the Olympics?
As usual, the mysterious artist did not give any explanation on Instagram. The works appeared very quickly one after the other - usually Banksy's works are several months apart.
On August 5, a graffiti of a goat standing on top of a falling rock wall appeared in Richmond, south-west London.
"I think this is actually a mountain gazelle from Palestine. I think this work is related to Palestine," artist Daniel Lloyd-Morgan, 60, told AFP.
A day later, two silhouettes of elephants appeared in Chelsea, south-west London, with their trunks stretched out towards each other.
On August 7, a black silhouette of three monkeys was depicted on the side of a railway bridge.
"Banksy is trying to make us think about the environmental crisis that really threatens humanity," said university lecturer Fawaz Gerges.
"His focus seems to be on the animals, the trees, the oceans, and that's been an overarching theme of his for the last few months," he added.
The works appeared at a time when England was gripped by violent anti-immigrant protests following the murder of three girls. Demonstrators attacked hotels housing asylum seekers.
Banksy, whose identity is unknown, has repeatedly shown empathy for the plight of refugees.
At the Glastonbury music festival last month, the artist launched an inflatable boat above the crowd depicting migrant mannequins wearing life jackets. | BGNES
