The British street artist Banksy has confirmed he is behind a new and somewhat cryptic mural painted in north London over the weekend—of a woman holding a pressure washer who appears to have sprayed green paint up the side of a block of flats. Painted on a dilapidated wall on Hornsey Road in Finsbury Park behind a recently pollarded tree, the green paint makes the barren branches look as if they are springing into life.
Speculating on social media, commentators suggest the work is either a comment on the climate crisis or companies’ greenwashing of the issue—or a nod to St Patrick’s day, which sees the Chicago River turned green with dye, an apparently environmentally sound practice. Others suggest the streaky paint resembles climate activists’ vandalism of works of art.
Though not authenticated by Banksy’s studio Pest Control—and therefore not strictly sellable—stealing and flogging his street pieces has become commonplace. His last outdoor work, of a red stop sign with three military drones stuck to it, was stolen within hours of it being installed in Peckham, south London. Met officers are reportedly still trying to locate the work, which is said to be worth an estimated £500,000 even without an authentication certificate.
Speaking on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, Banksy fan and podcast maker James Peake noted how Banksy has tried to solve the conundrum with his new work. “I don't think anyone is going to be able to nick this... how are you going to steal a tree?” Peake said.