A new Banksy artwork has appeared outside the High Court in London.
The black and white graffiti, appearing to depict a judge wielding a gavel, attacking someone on the floor, holding a blank sign covered in blood.
Banksy confirmed the artwork is his on his Instagram, simply captioning it: ‘Royal Courts of Justice. London.’
Photographs posted on social media show that the mural has since been boarded up, with security officers standing guard.
Metro understands that, as the court isn’t council property, it was not covered by Westminster Council.
The mural comes after some 900 people were arrested over the weekend during a protest against the government’s ban on a pro-Palestine group
Palestine Action was designated a terrorist organisation in July after two of its members broke into a British military base and sprayed red paint on two aircraft.
The decision to place the group on the same footing as Al Qaeda has been criticised by human rights groups and is being challenged in the courts by Palestine Action.
The government has defended the decision, arguing that the group crossed the legal threshold for terrorism.
What does the new Banksy mural mean?
Joe Syer, the founder of MyArtBroker, a Banksy brokerage, told Metro that today’s work is in keeping with the elusive artist’s provocative style.
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Many of his murals twist and poke fun at authority figures, like in Rude Copper to Queen Victoria.
Syer added: ‘A classic Banksy: striking imagery that’s immediately legible, yet layered with sharp social critique
‘What makes it so powerful is the way it deliberately unsettles our cultural assumptions about figures of power.
‘At a moment when questions of protest and free speech are dominating headlines, this work feels both timely and provocative – a reminder of how Banksy uses street art to distil complex issues into images that resonate globally.’
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