A recent mural by the well-known British street artist Banksy, portraying a judge striking an unarmed protester with a gavel, is set to be taken down from a wall outside a prominent court in London, authorities confirmed on Monday.
The artwork, unveiled on Monday, features a protester on the ground holding a blood-stained sign, while a judge in traditional attire hits him with a gavel. Banksy shared a photo of the mural on Instagram, a common practice to authenticate his creations, captioned “Royal Courts Of Justice. London.”
To safeguard the historical significance of the 143-year-old Victorian gothic-style building, where the mural is located, it will be removed with respect to its heritage, as stated by HM Courts and Tribunals. Listed buildings, such as the Royal Courts of Justice, are legally protected as the country’s most important historic structures.
Although the mural does not explicitly reference a specific cause or event, activists perceive it as a commentary on the UK government’s prohibition of the group Palestine Action. Last Saturday, nearly 900 individuals were arrested during a London protest challenging the ban.
Defend Our Juries, the organizers of the protest, expressed in a statement that the mural effectively portrays the harshness instigated by the government’s ban. They emphasized that attempts to suppress civil liberties only fuel dissent rather than extinguish it.
Banksy, renowned for his politically charged artworks, started his career by spray-painting buildings in Bristol, England. His pieces often critique governmental policies on issues like migration and warfare. The artist’s creations have fetched millions at auctions but have also attracted theft and vandalism.
In various locations worldwide, Banksy’s art has tackled migration themes. Notably, his work “The Migrant Child,” depicting a child in a life-jacket holding a smoke bomb, was revealed in Venice, Italy, in 2019. Additionally, artworks in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, including portrayals of a girl searching an Israeli soldier and a dove in a flak jacket, showcase his activism.
While some of Banksy’s artworks have been removed for preservation, such as the migrant child mural in Venice, others have been relocated to secure locations, like his animal-themed pieces in London last summer.