These days, it feels as though no sooner than a new Banksy appears it is stolen by some idiots with terrible critical thinking skills and very little foresight.
Just as his anti-war artwork on a south London stop sign was stolen in 2023, a new piece, which shows a wolf howling on a satellite dish, was stolen from Peckham within hours of it appearing. This wolf was the fourth in a series of recent works, conveniently cropping up around London over the past week of civil unrest. Honestly, I’d have expected more to be stolen if they weren’t emblazoned on literal bridges and walls.
What I want to know first off is the thought process behind these thieves. I’m not outright opposed to stealing for your own gain, as long as it’s not from me — it’s a cost-of-living crisis after all, who am I to snitch on anyone? But seriously, what are you going to do with it, mate? Do you have an Ocean's Eleven-style “fence” who understands the minutiae of the art world’s seedy underbelly, poised to help you make off with a stolen satellite dish and sell it to an oligarch at the drop of a hat? I’m guessing no. You will probably be caught, or end up selling it for a fraction of its worth, and ultimately regret the hassle of stealing it in the first place.
It’s quite scummy to steal a Banksy, which is essentially a social justice artwork
Secondly, it’s quite scummy to steal a Banksy, which is essentially a social justice artwork, instead of leaving them up to a) make their point and b) be enjoyed by the public. That being said, England does have a chequered history when it comes to artefacts and artwork, so maybe I can’t expect too much of people when the British Museum is right there.
But finally, I just don’t think a Banksy is worth it anymore. Love the guy, nice monkeys, yada yada, but in a time of such incredible social strife, they’re not even that revolutionary. He’s capable of more. Recall his flower-throwing protester, originally painted on Israel’s West Bank barrier wall in 2003? Or his Napalm image of a young girl from the Vietnam war hand-in-hand with Ronald McDonald and Mickey Mouse? Even his most vague artworks, like the Girl with Balloon, would have been more powerful here.
Instead, we got a howling wolf on a satellite dish. And the aforementioned monkeys - are they supposed to denote our crowd mentality? It’s just not hitting the way old Banksy did, and I wouldn’t clamber onto a roof to get it for fear of muddying my trousers, let alone being locked up in prison. A fraught period of time like this is Banksy’s for the taking, and yet the only thing being taken here is the satellite dish bearing his middling artwork.
