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He may be the world’s most famous street artist, but that doesn't mean murals by Banksy stick around for that long. He’s done plenty of spraying around London over the years, only for most of it to be painted over and lost forever. But, dotted here and there throughout the city, there are those that have survived – some in better shape than others. Here’s a list of what you should look out for on your urban art perambulations.
Good condition Banksy
Ibex, Kew, TW8
In August 2024, Banksy went on a spray spree, covering London in nine new artworks in nine days. One was immediately nicked, another was dismantled and carted away, but seven remain. All of them are depictions of animals, and this was the first, an ibex tottering on a column in Kew.
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Elephants, Edith Grove, SW10
The day after the ibex, Banksy popped two elephants flapping their trunks at each other onto the side of a house in Chelsea. One has since been defaced with stripes (a striped elephant? Genetically unlikely) but they're still there, still tooting their horns.
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Three monkeys, Shoreditch, E2
After the elephants come the monkeys, as the old saying goes. This was Banksy's third August artwork in London, a trio of primates swinging through the urban jungle of Shoreditch, sprayed onto the side of the overground bridge that crisscrosses the area.
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Pelicans, Pretoria Avenue, E17
Banksy's fourth fauna-tastic artwork of August 2024 was a wolf stencilled on a satellite dish in Peckham, which was almost immediately nicked by art hoodlums in hoodies. The next day, he whacked a couple of pelicans onto the side of Bonner's Fish Bar in Walthamstow, enjoying a delicious fish supper of their own.
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Rhino, Westmoor Street, SE7
On the sixth day there was a cat in Cricklewood, which got removed, then on the seventh day there were some piranhas in the City, which got removed. But this big horny rhino mounting a Nissan Micra in Charlton was a lot hard to shift, largely due to being on an actual solid bit of wall. Clever.
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Gorilla, London Zoo, NW1
The final artwork in Banksy's big August menagerie was this rebellious gorilla, lifting a shutter and letting all the animals out of the zoo. Freeing all the animals in the zoo sounds like a nice idea, but one that would actually be very dangerous for both the animals and local residents. Very inconsiderate, really.
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Tree, Hornsey Road, N4
All the leaves are brown, and the sky is grey, that's England for ya. But not on Hornsey Road in Finsbury Park, where the Bankster has sprayed green paint behind a tree to make it look perpetually in Spring.
Rat, Tooley Street, SE1
Just where Tooley Street meets the underpass beneath London Bridge is this little rat – one of many that Banksy has left around London over the years. They’re kind of like his minions, wreaking havoc across the city.
‘You Lose’ rat, Steelyard Passage, EC4
At the eastern end of this passage running beneath Cannon Street Rail is this guy, holding a sign saying ‘You Lose’. Who’s losing? The squares who’d like to see this removed! Loserrrrrrs.
‘I Love Robbo’ rat, Chiswell St, EC1
This rodent on this City street is holding a sign saying ‘I Love Robbo’, a reference to King Robbo, another famous street artist. Hard to say if this is sincere or not: the two had a famous feud until the latter’s death in 2014. They even went so far as to repeatedly paint over each other’s work along a stretch of Regent's Canal in Camden.
‘Always Fail’ rat, Farringdon Road, EC1.
Stationed outside the Mount Pleasant Mail Centre in London, the rat's slogan – now barely visible – is apparently a reference to the Royal Mail’s nickname. Seems even Banksy needs to let off steam when his friends’ birthday cards arrive late.
Helicopter, Old Street, EC2
Okay, this one’s largely out of sight now that an extension has been added to the building. But Banksy’s pink bow-wearing helicopter can still be viewed. If, perhaps, you have your own helicopter.
Graffiti area, Cargo, EC2
This one has been given a proper bit of TLC, having been protected under a sheet of perspex in the beer garden of nightclub Cargo, away from the hands of its, er, ‘overexcited’ patrons.
Falling shopper, Bruton Street, W1
Taking the idea of ‘shop till you drop’ to a literal extreme, this mural has survived unscathed because it’s a couple of storeys above street level, and out of reach.
The Royal Family, Stoke Newington Church Street, N16
Blur fans will recognise this one from the cover of their 2003 single ‘Crazy Beat’. This was nearly lost forever after workmen from Hackney Council started painting over it in 2009, but after locals protested, it has more or less survived.
‘My Tap’s Been Phoned’, Chrisp Street, E14
This piece along the Poplar market road has been executed beside a water tap, and is a little twist on the press’s phone hacking scandal.
Worse-for-wear Banksy
Graffiti painter, Cambridge Gardens, W10
Located at the corner of Portobello Road, this dandyish artist is looking a bit worse for wear these days, having been tagged and scrawled over a few times.
Cash machine, Rosebery Avenue, EC1
This creepy ATM, with its robotic pincer arm grabbing hold of a little girl, was clearly too much for the people of Clerkenwell: it’s been partially painted over with rollers.
'Very Little Helps', Essex Road, N1
Banksy’s mural of a group of kids raising a Tesco bag up a flagpole has since been scribbled over, with the bag replaced with a ‘King Robbo’ tag, but is still visible as a whole.
Fishing child, Bermondsey Wall, SE16
Quaint riverside fishing scene? Not quite: this urchin has just pulled a syringe out of the Thames. You’ll have to squint to find this one – it’s nearly completely faded into non-existence.
Spotted any Banksy artworks that didn’t make it onto the list? Sorry, even geniuses like us have off days. Tweet us at @TimeOutArt.
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