Overview
- Banksy, who posted an Instagram video Thursday, confirmed he created the statue after his team installed it before dawn Wednesday in central London.
- The work shows a suited man holding a flag that covers his face as he steps off a pedestal, and it sits in Waterloo Place among monuments to Edward VII, Florence Nightingale and the Crimean War.
- Westminster Council put temporary fencing around the piece and said it is taking steps to protect it while keeping it open for people to see.
- Viewers and experts read the image as a jab at blind patriotism and power, with BBC podcaster James Peak calling it a portrait of a leader so flag-blinded he is about to fall.
- The appearance renews interest in Banksy’s methods and identity as a recent Reuters report linked him to Robin Gunningham without confirmation from the artist.