No one knows how Banksy managed to place his work in the middle of London without attracting attention

Many have interpreted Banksy’s statue as depicting blind patriotism. Picture: Kyodonews

World famous street artist Banksy surprised Londoners once again with his new work, when it appeared in the dark of night in the middle of the big city.

The large-sized statue ended up on the night between Wednesday and Thursday in Waterloo Square in Westminster, which is less than 500 meters from the official residence of the British Prime Minister and a short distance from the Houses of Parliament and Buckingham Palace.

In the work, a costumed figure standing on a high plinth holds a flag in his hand, which covers its face so that the figure does not notice that he is stepping off the plinth into the void.

How is it possible that Banksy will manage to take a large statue to the middle of London without attracting attention?

It is clear that such a daring trick cannot be done without help. By posting on the artist’s Instagram it can be seen in the videothat the statue has been brought to the place with a crane, and it will be installed by several people wearing orange vests.

According to one theory, Banksy could be a collective formed by several people, but there is no certainty about this.

It is certain that those who erected the work knew exactly what they were doing.

“They’re the kind of guys who can put on a Metallica concert in 24 hours: funny people, but actually extremely organized and professional when it comes to getting things done,” says British Broadcasting on the BBC The Banksy Story creator of the podcast James Peak.

“They probably scouted the area, figured out what was going on when, went there in the early hours of the morning with a low-floor semi-trailer and placed the statue in a matter of minutes.”

Banksyn the work was placed in an area where there are other large monuments, such as the king Edvard VII’s statue as well as Florence Nightingalen and the Crimean War Memorial. Maybe one of the many statues is undergoing mandatory maintenance, a passer-by might think if they happened to pay attention to Banksy’s teammates.

The piece was placed in front of the Athenaeum building, which is under renovation. Photos taken from the scene show that the facade of the building is currently covered with scaffolding.

So it is not strange at all if you see machines and workers in front of a building under renovation even at night.

Although Banksy’s statue looks heavy and solid, it is most obviously made of fiberglass. This is what the representative of the Philip Mold gallery, located along Pall Mall street, states at the same time In an Instagram post.

Banksyn the successful implementation of the nightly surprise has been discussed and speculated lively, for example, the chat service On reddit. Many users point out that central London is a very quiet place in the mornings.

According to most, the key to Banksy’s secret operations is that the artist uses a team to help him and the operations are planned very carefully. One panelist believes that Banksy works with landowners and uses contractors to physically install parts of his works.

BBC and NMW reported in 2023 that Banksy’s team managed to accidentally record rare video footage. The pictures showed how the team members finished the video they made Valentines Day Mascara – from the work in the city of Margate in Great Britain.

A local resident captured the moment on his camera. The video shows the artist team interacting with passers-by. One of the team members showed the son of the woman who filmed the video how to fly the drone.

Banksy takes the works he has made publicly in his name by publishing pictures or videos of them on Instagram. He also published a video of the statue he made in London during May Day week, at least part of which was probably filmed with a drone.

Banksy’s true identity has not been confirmed. In March, the Reuters news agency said he had figured out Banksy being from Bristol Robin Gunninghambut the information has not been confirmed.