So, do we have our first Leicestershire Banksy?
BRIDGE ARTWORK HAS THE HALLMARKS OF MYSTERY GRAFFITI STAR
A PIECE of artwork which has all the hallmarks of the famously elusive graffiti artist Banksy has been discovered underneath a bridge in Leicestershire.
The artwork was reported to the Mercury by a man who spotted it while walking his dog.
He said: “I was just about to let my dog off the lead when it caught my eye on the wall. It certainly wasn’t there last week.
“I looked at it and thought, ‘that looks like good work for graffiti’.
“Then when I looked at it again I thought, ‘You know what, that looks like a Banksy to me’.”
The artwork depicts the evolution of man from ape to human with the design of a businessman carrying a briefcase wearing a facemask at the end of the line.
The artist – whoever it might be – highlighted the black and white stencil-like design with a small piece of standout colour, on the mask.
“The subject matter – the evolution of Man ending with a man with a briefcase and a facemask, it looked like a lot of thought had gone into that. When you look at it, it does make you wonder.”
The discovery comes after Banksy recently completed a piece on the side of a building in Nottingham, of a young girl using a bicycle tyre as a hula-hoop, next to an abandoned bicycle locked to a lamppost.
Our dog walker, who asked to remain anonymous, admitted he was no Banksy expert, but hoped to find out the answer so that he could end the debate with his wife as to whether it is a true Banksy.
A spokeswoman for the council which covers the artwork’s location – which the Mercury has chosen not to make public at this stage – said: “I think we might have to wait to see if Bansky claims it on his Instagram account.”
We have contacted representatives of Banksy for a comment.
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