Jess Battison
A man has run off with the new Banksy artwork within just an hour of it being confirmed as a genuine installation.
The artist confirmed the work in South London with a social media post not long after midday today (22 December).
The new installation was a simple traffic stop sign, except it was covered with three aircraft said to resemble military drones.
Two blokes were soon spotted taking down the sign at an intersection in Peckham at about 12.30pm.
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As far as we know, Banksy isn't behind this removal, so it seems as though it really has been nicked.
And it's not the first time the mystery man's art work has been removed shortly after its creation.
Back on Valentine's Day this year, a mural weighing 3.8 tonnes called Valentine’s Day Mascara appeared on the side of a house in Margate, Kent.
Not long after Banksy shared snaps of it, it was taken apart.
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That mural depicted a 1950s’ housewife with a swollen eye and missing tooth, wearing an apron and yellow washing-up gloves while throwing a fella into a freezer.
The resident who lived at the place where the painting sat, told the PA news that agency items used for the art had been removed 'very quickly' and put into a truck.
In September, the mural was placed in the foyer of The Art of Banksy exhibition in London, where it can be viewed for free.
The exhibition also features pieces including Girl With Balloon, Flower Thrower and Rude Copper and also focuses on Banksy’s Dismaland, The Walled Off Hotel in Bethlehem - as well as recent works acknowledging the ongoing war in Ukraine.
Back in 2020, Banksy spray painted a London Underground carriage with rat characters in commentary of the Covid-19 pandemic.
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Transport for London (TfL) removed it due to what they called their 'strict anti-graffiti policy'.
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An exhibition also opened at Glasgow’s Gallery of Modern Art (GoMA) this year for a limited run and showcased 25 years of Banksy’s stencil graffiti.
In August, a message on cutandrun.co.uk said that organisers now 'want to take this show on the road but have no idea where to go to next'.
The artist often refers to contemporary issues and in 2020 included messages about the Coronavirus pandemic in his work.
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Commenting on Banksy's Instagram post of today's Stop sign installation, users praised the work as one put: "You should start doing more 3D sh*t this is dope."
Many also thought it to be his commentary on the conflict in Gaza as fans applauded him and wrote: "Stop the wars."
And one also joked: "You know there's a geezer unbolting that right now ready to sell it on eBay."