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Banksy posted a photo of a mural of a girl hula-hooping on social media, ending speculation about whether he was behind the job.
The mural appeared on a wall Tuesday at the corner of Rothesay Avenue in Lenton, Nottingham.
Painted in black and white, the tongue-in-cheek image sits right behind a broken bicycle chained to a lamp post with an infinity lock. The bicycle is missing a tire.
Surinder Kaur, 42, who runs the beauty salon next to the mural, said the bicycle had appeared at the same time as the mural.
She said that within hours the council was quick to protect the piece by placing clear plastic sheets over it. The vandals have already spray painted on the plastic two or three times.
“Everybody is very excited and many, many people come to see the image,” Kaur said. “Everybody was confused about whether it was real or not, but it’s an amazing image, it’s amazing art.”
Banksy’s decentralized Parliament, which features chimpanzee-filled Houses of Parliament, sold for £ 9.9 million last year, setting a new record for his work, according to valuation website MyArtBroker.com.
Many of his murals have also been lifted from the walls and sold, with Kissing Coppers, an image of two male police officers embracing at the side of a Brighton pub, which sold for £ 350,000 in 2011.
Kaur said: “Unfortunately I do not own the property, I am renting. He brought the bicycle with him; there is one tire on the bike and the other is in the picture as the girl’s hula hoop. “
Kaur, which has just reopened after closing, said many people had come to her salon to inquire about the mural, but she was still not sure if it would create a boost for her business.
“Let’s see, I’m not sure about anything at the moment,” she said.
In July, a Banksy artwork inspired by the coronavirus appeared on a London Underground train. A series of rats were patterned around a carriage wearing face masks, sneezing or grabbing hand sanitizer in a piece called If You Don’t Mask, Don’t Wear.
Transport for London was quick to remove the piece in line with its anti-graffiti policy, but said: “We appreciate the sentiment of encouraging people to wear face covers.”
This summer, Banksy used the sale of his artwork to finance a 30-meter motor yacht to rescue migrants trying to cross the Mediterranean into Europe. Named after the 17th century French anarchist Louise Michel, the yacht features artwork by Banksy on its exterior.
