The meaning behind the new Banksy mural in Finsbury Park, London

Banksy has confirmed the authenticity of his latest artwork, a bright green tree mural that has appeared on a building in north London.

The artist shared before and after pictures of the painting on his Instagram page on Monday following widespread speculation that he was behind it.

The piece, which locals spotted on the side of a block of flats on Hornsey Road, Finsbury Park, on Sunday morning, features a mass of green paint positioned behind a cut-back tree to look like foliage, alongside a black stenciled figure holding a pressure hose.

One of the building’s tenants told i that the crowds of spectators and the media had grown by Monday, and would no doubt continue to do so once the artwork was claimed by Banksy himself.

What has been speculated about the artwork’s meaning?

James Peak, the documentarian behind the BBC Radio 4 series The Banksy Story, said he thought the artwork by the elusive street artist carried a “clear” message that “nature’s struggling and it is up to us to help it grow back”.

Mr Peak, who received a tip-off about the new work and rushed to see it in person, said before the work was confirmed by Banksy on Monday: “To my mind it looks like a dead cert.”

The documentary-maker speculated that the piece was likely made using a pressure hose or fire extinguisher to create the “leaves” of the on the wall behind the tree, adding: “If you go way back to the beginning of his work, he is always looking for something he can do with minimum effort to make something look really cool.”

Read Next

Mr Peak also highlighted that the paint’s green colour matches that which is used by Islington Council for signs in the local area, showing Banksy’s eye for detail.

“It’s spring now, and this tree should be bursting forth with leaves, but Banksy must have cycled past and thought how miserable it looks,” he said.

“So, on St Patrick’s Day, he has taken exactly the same shade of green Islington Council use for their street signs and used a pressure hose or a fire extinguisher to spray the leaves back in, onto the rather dilapidated wall behind.”

Amy, who has lived in the building for three years, told i: “The tree that is in front of [the mural], when we first moved in, was all bloomed and beautiful and it was massive, which is why I think the council have killed it by chopping it back like they have – so it’s quite ironic now that their doing that has resulted in this.”

How do we know if the artwork is actually by Banksy?

Banksy tends to officially confirm his work by sharing pictures on his website and social media, which he did on Monday morning in what was his first post this year.

Even before it was claimed by the artist himself, whose own identity has never been officially confirmed, speculation was rife that Banksy was behind the piece.

Islington councillor Flora Williamson said on the social media platform X, formerly Twitter, on Sunday: “By far the most exciting thing to happen on today’s canvass session on Hornsey Road was seeing that Banksy had come to Tollington overnight. Lots of local interest – I’m a fan of it”.

Locals also took to social media following the artwork’s appearance, with one resident of the flat block on which it appeared saying: “Banksy came overnight and now my rent will skyrocket”.

Amy, who has rented a flat in the building for three years, said she saw small crowds beginning to gather around 10am on Sunday morning, but only realised herself what they were looking at when she returned from a run a few hours later.

“It’s definitely not my area of expertise, but the first thing I said when I saw it is that I think it’s a Banksy,” she said.

“I went outside last night when the news started spreading a bit, and there were these industry experts and people who run street art news and Instagram pages looking at it and they said they’re pretty confident that it is Banksy’s work, because the stencil of the character holding the spray bottle doesn’t have any feet and apparently that’s quite characteristic of what Banksy does.”

She said that seeing the work on Sunday night felt “quite secretive in a way, getting there before it gets a bit wild” and added that her landlord, who owns the building, thought it was “quite funny”.

She added: “The paint is flaky so there’s no way anyone could kind of take it down and sell it on like they have with his other pieces – I don’t know if that was one of the reasons he chose it as a spot to paint after the sign got stolen last year.

“Hopefully our landlord lets it stay because I think it’s really cool.”

Islington Council told i that its graffiti removal team was aware of the artwork and won’t remove it, adding that Islington’s tree service had pruned the tree, which it said was in declining health, for safety and in an effort to help prolong its lifespan.

Councillor Roulin Khondoker, executive member for Equalities, Culture and Inclusion said: “Culture is a powerful way to tell meaningful stories and we welcome this artwork in Islington, a borough that celebrates creativity.

“This fantastic piece from Banksy has sparked a real buzz across Islington and beyond, and we very much want the artwork to stay for people to enjoy. We want to find more ways that we can tell important stories through art and culture.

“Trees are a vital part of our work to tackle the climate emergency. We’ve planted nearly 900 in the last year alone, and we work hard to care for our trees and help them to thrive.”

Meanwhile, former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn told the PA news agency he was “delighted” to see the artwork in his Islington North constituency.

“Banksy’s come to Finsbury Park with a bit of greenery in a place that needs a bit more greenery. We’re the most densely populated constituency in the country and I’m just delighted,” the MP said.

“It gives the idea that we could do with much more greenery everywhere and I think that’s a really nice message.”