Hi, I'm Jessica the Museum Guide and today I'm going to be taking you on a tour of the best Banksy pieces that are left here in London. Now it's early June 2023 and as of right this moment these are the Banksy pieces that you could see as you explore this city. That's right.
Today I'm out of the museum and on the streets of London as I visit every single Banksy piece that is still visible, including a few that aren't in great condition and a few bonuses. So why did I make this video? Well over the years dozens of iconic Banksy pieces have been removed, sold, or destroyed on London's streets, and some of them quite recently. For instance, this piece on Bruton Street in Mayfair was just covered by a new building in the past year. And this little rat at Tooley Street near Borough Market was painted over just a few months ago.
Every time I've ever tried to Google an accurate list or map of Banksy's work, I've been foiled. Even articles written this year by seemingly reputable sources include tons of pieces that have been destroyed or gone for years. So I decided to do something about it. I've been guiding street art tours in London for a decade now and I know that people often want to see famous pieces on any graffiti tour. I'm happy to give the people what they want so I always visit the Banksy pieces in Shoreditch that we're going to cover a little bit later on.
But for this video I also searched far and wide, well that means I went to Notting Hill which I never do, to find all of the currently visible Banksy pieces in London for summer 2023. If you have any questions at all, please leave me a comment below and tell me which of these pieces is your favourite. Also, let me know if I missed one in London. I'm happy to provide advice and directions in the comments section as some of these can be a little hard to find.
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I'm now offering memberships to my channel which gives you lots of nice perks like getting my videos a few days before everyone else. Now first, just a tiny bit of Banksy history. This anonymous stencil artist and social commentator started creating pieces in London in 2000 after gaining a reputation in his native Bristol, by the way my favourite city in the UK.
He managed to start a rivalry with an established graffiti writer, Robbo, before going on to become one of the most recognizable artists in the world. I'm talking about his style, not his face, of course. From his Oscar-nominated documentary Exit Through the Gift Shop to his Dismaland bemusement park and more recent auction stunts, Banksy remains a divisive and very famous UK artist with an impressive body of work, some of it on London's streets. And we'll see it today. Let's start.
with pieces in the worst condition. Seriously, these pieces are in a pretty rotten state and so I wouldn't personally go out of my way to see them, but if you're a huge Banksy fan or if you're in the area they're worth a peek. So let's start with this one here in Bethnal Green on the outside wall of the Bethnal Green Working Men's Club.
This piece was done in 2007 just after Tower Hamlets stated that they would remove all of Banksy pieces in the borough. Just as an aside, Tower Hamlets has become much more lenient about street art and graffiti since that time. As you can see, the stencil of the painter is long gone.
It was visible until just a couple of years ago, but now it's really been tagged and painted over. The only part that remains visible is the large yellow flower, which used to connect up to the double yellow parking lines on the street. Next, there's this utterly battered car in the courtyard of Ely's Yard in the old Truman Brewery. just around the corner from Spitalfields Market. Now there's a reason I've included this as one of the bonus Banksy's and not one of the official ones on my list and that's because it's demonstrably in really terrible condition.
It's only gotten worse and worse over the last decade that I've been guiding street art tours in the East End. Now this one is such a shame because it used to be genuinely really cool and it's been left to molder and rust and rot. Commissioned by the Truman Brewery, which contrary to its name is not a brewery at all and is instead an art space and conference and trade show venue, this car originally included a plywood piece with the Grim Reaper and it was called the Long Ride Into Hell. However, over time and as Banksy's star grew, the plywood piece with the Grim Reaper was snatched and people began attacking the car itself. I remember even back in like 2012, it was already in a pretty bad state, but now it looks much worse.
After all, this is a party space and there's a lot of nightclubs nearby. Nearby Shoreditch could be a bit of an unruly area. I'd love to see the old Truman Brewery either. take this off display, pay a conservator to fix it up, or allow young artists to just have at it and go wild.
There's this very faded piece on the Thames River Path in Bermondsey, which is in southeast London. This is around 20 minutes on foot from the legendary Borough Market. Banksy painted this little boy fishing in a bucket, retrieving a syringe, in 2008. And it was spruced up a bit in 2011. but it's now almost faded from view.
A few others that you can kinda sorta kinda see, but again that aren't worth the trip in my opinion, are Very Little Helps on Essex Road, mocking the classic Tesco slogan, and finally this formerly wonderful piece on Roseberry Avenue near Exmouth Market. I used to love seeing this one when the Exmouth Arms was my boozer, but it's now in horrible condition. Okay.
Now that we've seen some ruined pieces, let's have a look at a piece that could be the newest Banksy in London. Or is it? This piece at Marble Arch, which was created during the Extinction Rebellion protests in 2019, includes a quote from The Revolution of the Everyday Life by the Situationist philosopher Raoul Veneghem. When this piece appeared, it instantly sparked speculation that Banksy was the artist, and some experts have gone on to say that it appears genuine to them.
I mean, even Wikipedia claims that it's a real Banksy. Westminster Council, notoriously opposed to graffiti, soon covered it in perspex to protect it, and it still looks good today. So why am I not including it on my official list?
It's simply because Banksy did not claim credit for it, something he always does within a day or two on his social media or on his webpage. So why didn't he do it here? My suspicion is that this isn't actually a Banksy, and to be honest, it just doesn't feel right to me, but I would be happily corrected if he ever claims credit for it.
So for now, I'm including this piece in my video, but it's with an asterisk, and uh, maybe. Definitely go see it if you're in the area. Now, let's head to the confirmed pieces that are all in the best condition.
The ones that are worth going out of your way to visit and experience. It's no secret that I'm an East End girl so I very rarely make it out here to Notting Hill but today I'm here to see a Banksy that I've never actually seen in person before. It's called the Painter and it references Spanish master Diego Velazquez.
Back in 2019, building owners here in Notting Hill removed the scaffolding from a covered wall and revealed a piece of art called the Painter. Showing a graffiti artist, thought to be Spanish master Velazquez, painting Banksy's name in a kind of graffiti style. Now, it first appeared on the building at the corner of Acklam Road and Portobello Road in 2008. And over the past decade and a half, it was bombed with some tags.
However, the building, purchased by N Star Capital in 2018, decided to restore the piece as a part of their high-end condo development. which sparked controversy in a borough so in need of more affordable housing. Owner Simon Lyons said that the mural was, quote, one of the reasons he bought the building, adding that it gave the luxury flats, quote, that iconic profile. Somehow I think Banksy would have something to say about this. Now, the piece is in pristine condition, under the perspex, of course.
Note the... few little references to Banksy's legendary frenemy Robbo. So now we're in my old neighbourhood, Stoke Newington.
It's actually where I got married and we're here to see a piece from 2003 by Banksy that was almost destroyed by the council. It's called The Royal Family. A lot of the Banksy pieces in London are in very urban areas surrounded by bustling city streets but this piece here in Stoke Newington is in a much more chill neighbourhood.
The piece was painted in 2003. and depicts the royal family as cartoonish clowns waving from a balcony. The same concept was later reworked to serve as the cover artwork for the 2003 single Crazy Beat by the band Blur, which Banksy did art direction for. Now the piece was untouched for eight years until Hackney Council intervened and said enough was enough. Even after council workers told their employers about the cultural significance of the artwork, they refused to budge and they stated that graffiti is graffiti. The owner of the building, Sovie Attrell, was devastated when she saw the wall being painted over, so she ran outside and told the painters to stop.
According to the council, they had tried to contact Attrell to make arrangements, but they couldn't get a hold of her. That said, since that time, they have clearly reached some kind of detente, as the piece remains, albeit surrounded by the scruffy black paint. Hackney today, a decade or so later, is now cashing in on the cool of street art, allowing a lot more graffiti and murals to remain in situ and benefiting from constant street art tours in Shoreditch, which is also in the borough. If you do decide to come and see this one, make sure you visit Abney Park Cemetery, one of London's magnificent seven, and check out the cool shops and cafes on Church Street.
Now we're heading down to the financial district to the Barbican. Back in 2017, Two new artworks by Banksy appeared at the posh Barbican Centre, known for its art gallery, broodless architecture, and symphony and theatre venues. At the time, the Barbican was preparing to host an upcoming Jean-Michel Basquiat exhibition.
Basquiat was a graffiti and street art legend from New York who died at the age of 27 in 1988, but he continues to influence and inspire artists to this day. Announcing these new pieces on his official Instagram, Banksy said, Major new Basquiat show opens at the Barbican, a place that is normally very keen to clean any graffiti from its walls. Now here we see the main piece, which is the larger of the two, portrait of Basquiat being welcomed by the Metropolitan Police.
An unofficial collaboration with the new Basquiat show. Banksy also called this his Bank-squiat piece. and it is clearly inspired by Basquiat's Boy and a Dog in a Johnny Pump, which was a slang term for a fire hydrant, adding in his own famous police stencils arresting Basquiat, which is what they certainly would have done if he painted here at the Barbican. This work is all about the irony of a place like the Barbican lauding a graffiti artist when they would instantly call the police on any actual graffiti artists, especially black graffiti artists.
that were on their premises. Now before you leave Golden Lane, however, make sure you swivel around 180 degrees because just behind you you'll find the other Bank's Ghiat mocking the exhibition. It's this ferris wheel with people queuing up at a ticket booth underneath. Crown motifs, which are the symbol of Basquiat's art, replace the wheel's passenger cars, making a statement about the spectacle and commercialization of Basquiat, turning him into yet another London tourist attraction, just like the London Eye.
Ironically, Banksy's pieces mocking the Barbican's hypocrisy also kind of gave the Barbican a gift. I mean, he gifted them very expensive pieces of art and tourist attractions in their own right. Now let's head to another piece.
Just a few steps from the Barbican pieces here, you can find one of Banksy's rats. Banksy has been criticized for copying pioneering French street artist Blech Larratt, not just for these rats, but for his other subjects, like police officers and surveillance cameras. And by the way, Blech Larratt has been creating stencils like these since the 80s.
And Banksy has addressed this. He doesn't deny it. He says, quote, every time I think I've painted something slightly original, I found out that Blech Larratt has done it as well, only 20 years earlier.
Now this rat dates to 2003 and it used to say London doesn't work, perhaps making a reference to the ever increasing cost of living that continues to drive artists to other cities. However, a few years later during Banksy's legendary feud with graffiti writer Robbo, Robbo came out and changed the sign to say I love Robbo. Touché.
After Robbo's tragic accident in 2011 and his death in 2014, No one touched this piece for years, even though it isn't covered with any plastic or perspex. I find that wild. It's also worth noting that this rat is in the strange area of Greater London called the City of London, the old Roman city with its own government and laws.
This area has extremely punitive laws around graffiti and street art, so Banksy, Robbo, and the person who added this new stencil took a real risk here. And... That brings us to the disappointing current state of affairs. In the past few months, after more than a decade of respect for Rabo, someone has covered the sign with Porca Madonna, which is an Italian way to insult the Virgin Mary, or just kind of swear in general. It was possible because remember, this piece doesn't have any perspex, although someone has clearly painted the building carefully around the piece.
They know that this is A Banksy and the building owner knows it's worth money or at the very least cultural cachet. So there is actually another Banksy rat in central London. It's the only other one that I know of to survive on the street. This one is located on the back of the Standard Hotel, which is the former Camden Town Hall annex, just across the street from St. Pancras Station, a building that has been described as a modernist masterpiece, sold by the council to the hotel in 2015, coming complete with a Banksy piece that they have chosen to preserve.
Now, I want to manage your expectations. I originally contemplated putting this in my, quote, bad conditions section. However I went to see it in person today and I was actually impressed by how good it looks.
I'm not sure what year Banksy stenciled this rat but from the looks of it I'd guess around 2003. Reportedly the council tried to rub the stencil away when they discovered it before they realized that it was a prized artwork by Banksy and at that point they fitted a layer of perspex on top and the hotel has decided to keep it. Okay, let's head to Shoreditch and to Rivington Street. Here's another 2003 banger.
Banksy was busy in London at that time. It's Banksy's designated street art area in the courtyard of the former Cargo Nightclub. It's in exceptional condition, especially for having been here for 20 years, because it's always been behind perspex, and this big fence here is closed and locked at night. This piece is a mockery of the London Metropolitan Police.
with an officer and his poodle complete with a clown nose on patrol in a quote designated graffiti area these railway arches around cargo were also the home of Banksy's first big London show which was in 2000 so he was hanging out in this area a lot at the time and he returned here to paint again and again and that's probably why we could find another piece on this site and it's our final really great condition Banksy in London as of 2023 He painted this other piece also in 2000, recreating the His Master's Voice tag, which he had first tagged on the streets of Bristol. Banksy's stencil included the dog, named Spot, pointing a bazooka at an old-fashioned gramophone. This is, of course, a reimagining of the famous HMV logo, right at the time that the chain was struggling to survive on the changing high streets.
For the rest of the design in the background, he collaborated with fellow street artist Stilo from the V.O.P. Visual Orgasm Productions crew. Stilo surrounded the stencil piece with orange letters that spell out his own name. Now, so far I have shown you the undeniably best and worst preserved pieces of Banksy work in London, but I still do have two bonuses for you before we continue.
The first bonus is two Banksy pieces that were uncovered in 2018 in Shoreditch. after nearly a decade under hoardings. I was lucky enough to see them and take a few street art tours here before the building was knocked down, but not before the pieces were saved of course.
The land was bought by the hotel chain Art Hotel, and the actual hotel is still under construction. I think it was delayed during the pandemic. The controversial cylindrical design definitely sticks out on the landscape like a sore thumb. occupying the site of the former foundry, which was the place for Brit art artists and musicians from 2000 to 2010. In 2018, when the hoardings were removed in preparation for the demolition, this giant rat with a big red eye, which is about 6 meters high, or nearly 20 feet, was revealed, and people had forgotten it was here.
Next to it, we can also see a smaller work showing a television being thrown out of a window while still plugged in. Now I've included these in my video because Art Hotel apparently has these pieces in storage and they will feature in the new hotel whenever it eventually opens. So if you're watching this in coming years maybe you can go and check them out almost in situ.
I'm sure there'll be a very expensive bar that you can have a drink at as well. Now finally as we wrap up our tour of all of the visible Banksy pieces in London we're actually going to head to the Kentish seaside. to the formerly and still run-down holiday destination of Margate, increasingly known as Shoreditch-on-Sea for its trendy art galleries, eateries, and now even its very own Banksy.
No, this isn't London, but more and more folks are taking weekend mini-breaks here, as it only takes about an hour and 20 minutes on the train from East London, and so it feels fitting to include it on our list. Back in February 2023, this piece appeared on the side of a row house. Banksy took credit for it immediately on his website and titled it Valentine's Day Mascara, a play on the word massacre and the fact that the woman has a swollen eye and missing tooth and she's decided to do away with her abuser. We see her in the act of dumping her male partner into the freezer after she's had enough of his domestic violence.
Banksy incorporated an actual chest freezer into the piece which was immediately sold by the homeowner. Hey I would have done the same. It was purchased by the Red Eight Gallery in London and they stored the work over the winter until it was put on display here at the iconic Dreamland Amusement Park in mid-June.
There is a QR code next to the piece where viewers can donate to a domestic violence charity. If you do decide to make the trip there's a lot to see and do in Margate so it's always worth spending a night. So there you have it, eight or maybe nine really good quality Banksy pieces you can see while you're in London as of 2023. as well as a bunch that are in pretty rough condition and a couple of bonuses that you can see in the future or on a trip out of town. Again let me know your favorite in the comments below. Well that's the end of our tour exploring the best pieces by Banksy that you can see in London summer 2023. Hopefully I'll be able to update this video in a few years time with even more new Banksy pieces.
As for now I'll see you the next time I'm in the museum or out in the streets of London.