Banksy has confirmed authorship of a new mural in west London depicting two children lying on the ground and pointing skyward. The elusive street artist revealed the work on his Instagram account Monday afternoon, days before Christmas, with experts interpreting it as a statement on child homelessness.
The confirmed artwork appeared on Queen's Mews in Bayswater, painted above garages. An identical mural emerged outside the Centre Point tower in central London on Friday. The BBC understands the Centre Point piece is also by Banksy, though his representatives have only confirmed the Bayswater work.
The black and white mural shows a child in a beanie hat and wellington boots lying next to another person in a bobble hat, both gazing upward at the sky.
Homelessness at Christmas
Artist Daniel Lloyd-Morgan told the BBC the Centre Point location was deliberately chosen to highlight child homelessness. «Everybody is having a good time but there are a lot of children who are not having a good time at Christmas,» he said.
He noted people walking past the artwork were «ignoring it». «It's a busy area. Quite poignant that people aren't stopping. They walk past homeless people and they don't see them lying on the street,» Lloyd-Morgan explained. «It's kind of like they're stargazing. It's quite fitting that the kids are pointing up like they're looking at the North Star.»
Banksy expert Jason Tomkins called the mural a «clear statement on homelessness». He pointed out the unusual reuse of a character identical to one from Banksy's 2018 Port Talbot work: «This is quite unusual for him to use the same little boy again, because he has never done that.»
Centre Point's symbolic weight
The Centre Point tower, completed in 1966, remained empty for over a decade after construction, angering social justice campaigners. The building's prolonged vacancy directly inspired Rev Ken Leech to found the homelessness charity Centrepoint, which he named after the tower he called «an affront to the homeless».
The building has since been converted into multimillion-pound luxury flats, creating a stark contrast that Lloyd-Morgan suggests Banksy is highlighting.
Recent Banksy activity
In September, Banksy created a mural on the Royal Courts of Justice complex depicting a protester with a blood-spattered placard and a judge wielding a gavel. The work was quickly removed from the Queen's Building. Earlier in 2024, the artist created an animal-themed trail around London featuring goats, elephants, monkeys, piranhas and other creatures.
Banksy's identity remains unknown. The artist has not commented on the specific location choices for either new work.
Note: This article was created with Artificial Intelligence (AI).
