Banksy's new artwork at the Royal Courts of Justice contains one big mistake

Just weeks after another Banksy artwork made its way into protective storage ahead of being displayed at London Museum next year, the mysterious street artist has produced another piece of art – this time at the capital’s Royal Courts of Justice.

Before it was swiftly covered up by large sheets of black plastic and metal barriers, and guarded by security officials, it depicted a judge using his gavel to attack a protester holding up a blank placard.

It comes days after close to 900 people were arrested in London’s Parliament Square on Saturday for protesting the government’s decision to proscribe the direct action group Palestine Action as a terrorist organisation back in July.

The Metropolitan Police said the majority of arrests were made under Section 13 of the Terrorism Act, which makes it illegal to express support for or be a member of Palestine Action.

After Banksy confirmed the artwork was his on Monday morning via his Instagram account, social media users flooded the comments with praise.

“How the f*** did he manage that in that area? It’s swarming with security,” wrote one account.

Another commenter added: “The timing of the photo is epic!”

“Love that it was under the CCTV in its blind spot,” noted a third, referencing the artwork being on a wall just below a security camera.

Meanwhile on Twitter/X, the appropriately named 'Inappropriate Gavels' wrote: "Looks like Banksy needs some legal education":

That's in reference to the fact that, to quote another social media user, "we don't use gavels here":

Banksy has long been critical of conflicts and war in his work, creating artwork in Borodyanka, Ukraine in November 2022, and spraying three drones onto a London stop sign in December 2023.

The latter was taken by many to be a comment on the ongoing war in Gaza, with Amnesty International concluding that Israel is committing a genocide against Palestinians and a special committee of the United Nations finding Israel’s actions are “consistent with genocide”.

Why not read…

• How does Banksy make money?
• Banksy finally confirms name for first time in BBC interview

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