BANKSY BLEMISH New Banksy tree mural artwork painted on side of home appears to be vandalised with white paint thrown on it
A NEW Banksy tree mural sprayed on the side of a home has reportedly been vandalised with white paint.
The artist claimed the artwork as his own in an Instagram post on Monday, following a morning of speculation after it appeared on a building on Hornsey Road in Finsbury Park, north London, overnight.
Residents said they were "proud and delighted" at the thought of the anonymous artist choosing their street for his latest mural.
However, it now seems Banksy' mural's latest creation has been vandalised with white paint thrown over it.
Trainee clinical psychologist Amy, who lives in a flat in the building, shared a photo of the incident on X, formerly Twitter.
She wrote: "Someone's vandalised the Banksy overnight. Gutted. Why can't people let a community be happy without trying to ruin it?"
Bright green paint had been sprayed on the building, in front of a cut-back tree, creating the impression of being its foliage.
A stencil of a person holding a pressure hose was also sketched on to the building.
The vivid paint colour matches that used by Islington Council for street signs in the area.
Wanja Sellers, who lives a few doors down from the mural, said: "We're so proud and delighted that Banksy chose our road and chose Finsbury Park for his work.
"The bright green colours represent Islington, which is lovely, and also, of course, St Patrick's Day, which is nice and festive.
"Choosing the colours of our borough just makes it feel like a personal message to us residents. We just feel so proud."
Former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said 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," the MP said.
"We're the most densely populated constituency in the country and I'm just delighted.
"It gives the idea that we could do with much more greenery everywhere and I think that's a really nice message."
Lidia Guerra, another Hornsey Road resident, said: "The way it's been done, with the paint spraying down, reminds me of a weeping willow, so there's perhaps a message about the struggle of nature with the dead tree in front.
"It's just great - when we read about it last night, we knew we had to come and see it as soon as possible.
"We feel so proud to think he chose our street."
Local Chris Beskin, who went to see the mural with his neighbours on Monday morning, said he also welcomed the artwork, adding it is a "great thing to have in our area".
"I'm absolutely delighted to see this on our street - I think it's great and sends a strong message, I'd like to see more of it, to be honest, the more the merrier," he said.
"I think it's probably one of his biggest pieces in a while - and the fact he's done it on the wall means it can't just be stolen or easily removed."
Loraine Holmes is the co-founder of Facebook group Banksy locations, which has almost 20,000 members.
It's quite mad to be honest, to come down here and just to see all the crowds of people looking at the building.
She said she heard about the mural on Sunday night and got the first train down from Leeds on Monday morning to see it for herself.
Although Banksy had not confirmed the piece as his own when she left home, Loraine was certain from the information shared in the Facebook group that the mural was the anonymous street artist's work.
"I've been a fan for five, six years now and I've travelled across the country and seen his works in Margate, Nottingham, Port Talbot, I even travelled to Paris to see one of his pieces.
"We get a lot of information in this Facebook group, so I basically knew last night that this was definitely a Banksy piece.
"I'm just so glad to be down here and it's really exciting to see the crowds here for his work."
Banksy's last confirmed artwork
ELUSIVE artist Banksy confirms any artwork on his Instagram page.
The last post claiming any work as his own was in December last year.
A traffic stop sign was covered with three aircraft said to resemble military drones on a south London street.
Fans of Banksy interpreted the piece as a political statement calling for a ceasefire in Gaza.
Just an hour after Banksy confirmed the work was his, two men were seen taking down the sign using bolt cutters.
Footage showed one of them balancing on a Lime bike at the junction of Southampton Way and Commercial Way in Peckham.
It is understood Banksy was not behind the removal.
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