He London Zoo has removed the animal mural by the famous street artist Banksy to protect the work and preserve its integrity. The piece, which had appeared at the entrance to the zoo, showed a gorilla lifting a metal curtain, allowing several animals to escape, including birds and a sea lion, while mysterious eyes watched from the darkness.
The work, painted with spray and stencilattracted crowds of visitors for five days, creating a remarkable impact on both the public and the zoo itself.
“We are thrilled by the joy this artwork has already brought to so many people,” Kathryn England, London Zoo’s chief operating officer, said on its website.
England He also thanked Banksy for putting the wildlife in the spotlight and explained that the mural has become an important moment in the zoo’s history that they want to properly preserve.
The mural is part of a series of Banksy’s works animal-themed paintings that have appeared in London in recent days. However, as has happened with other works by the artist, the mural has been removed to protect it. The zoo entrance has been covered with a reproduction of the artwork and a message reading “Banksy woz ere” (“Banksy was here”).
The zoo has not yet announced what it will do with the work, but it is likely that if it is put back on display, it will be inside the zoo, where it can be seen, but not touched.
(With information from AP)
