A gathering of spectators has formed in an unexpected locale of London, all drawn by the allure of a fresh mural crafted by the enigmatic street artist Banksy.
The artwork appeared on the side of a residential building in Finsbury Park, a usually quiet neighborhood in Islington in north London, overnight on Sunday, and the anonymous street artist confirmed it as his own on Monday.
Painted on a wall behind a cut-back tree, the mural creates the illusion of foliage with green paint on the side of an apartment building on Hornsey Road and a life-size stencil of a person holding a sprayer at the bottom. Many believe the mural has an environmental message.
After a storm of speculation, the anonymous artist confirmed on Instagram that he was behind the piece, posting before and after photos of the wall.
Footfall spiked dramatically in the area as locals and tourists streamed in to snap photos and selfies of the renowned graffiti artist's latest creation.
Christian, a German tourist who landed in London on Sunday with his wife and daughter, said they wasted no time in getting to Finsbury Park.
"We read about the new Banksy piece in London on the internet and came here spontaneously to see it," he told Anadolu Agency (AA).
"We just took the opportunity to have a look at a piece by him, an original piece (he made) himself and that came by surprise."
Banksy's political and social commentary over the years has only added to his worldwide appeal.
"I think it is quite interesting that he is making social comments on different things nowadays, such as war, environmental things, and social things," said Christian.
"People are buying his work for millions of dollars and it's quite interesting that street art has become such a different thing now."
Another visitor was Hazel, who used to live in the neighborhood before moving to Bristol.
"I think it's beautiful. It's a really nice show of nature and artwork," she told AA.
"I think it's lovely ... to have all of these people come to Finsbury Park to look at something. That's great, a really good thing."
Before this mural, Banksy's last confirmed piece was back in December, when he painted military drones on a stop sign in south London.
The drones resembled the U.S.-made MQ-1 Predator, and though the artist never explained the piece, it was widely interpreted as a call for a cease-fire in Israel's war on Gaza.
The work was removed in less than an hour, with photos and videos showing it was taken down by a person with bolt cutters, aided by an accomplice. Police later arrested two men on suspicion of theft and criminal damage.
