Banksy unveils seventh animal-themed work in a week

LONDON

Banksy on Aug. 11 unveiled a new artwork in London, depicting a shoal of fish on a police sentry box, his seventh animal-themed piece to surface in the British capital over the last week.

The series created by the elusive street artist has sparked a frenzy of media interest and questions over its meaning.

Banksy, whose identity is publicly unknown and the subject of feverish speculation, confirmed on Instagram that the latest to appear overnight, in the City of London financial district, was his own.

Prior to Sunday, they had all been dark silhouette images, of a goat, elephants, monkeys, a wolf, pelicans and a cat.

But the newest offering appears to have been made using translucent spray paint on the sentry box's glass windows, turning it into what looks like a giant fish tank.

Two police officers could be seen examining the design and taking pictures of it on Sunday.

"We are aware of criminal damage to a City of London Police box in Ludgate Hill," detective chief inspector Andy Spooner said in a statement.

He noted the police force were "liaising" with the local authority who own the sentry box.

Two of the seven works that have appeared since Monday are no longer visible, after one depicting a wolf on a satellite dish was stolen less than an hour after it was unveiled in southeast London Thursday.

Then on Aug. 10, a piece crafted on an empty, distressed advertising billboard — showing a stretching cat — was removed from its location in northwest London by contractors citing safety reasons.

Several months usually pass between new Banksy artworks and this week's daily unveilings have sparked speculation in the media and among fans about what they could mean.

The Observer newspaper reported late Saturday that they were designed to "cheer up the public" during a tumultuous week in the U.K. marked by violent disorder on the streets of various towns and cities.

"Some recent theorising about the deeper significance of each new image has been way too involved, Banksy's support organization, Pest Control Office, has indicated," the Sunday newspaper said.