Banksy Unveils New Rhino Art in London

A person takes a photo of a new artwork by the British artist Banksy in Charlton, London, Britain, August 12, 2024. REUTERS/Mina Kim
A person takes a photo of a new artwork by the British artist Banksy in Charlton, London, Britain, August 12, 2024. REUTERS/Mina Kim
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Banksy Unveils New Rhino Art in London

A person takes a photo of a new artwork by the British artist Banksy in Charlton, London, Britain, August 12, 2024. REUTERS/Mina Kim
A person takes a photo of a new artwork by the British artist Banksy in Charlton, London, Britain, August 12, 2024. REUTERS/Mina Kim

Street artist Banksy on Monday unveiled a new mural of a rhinoceros that looks like it is climbing on top of a car in London — the eighth animal-themed artwork he has posted in the past week in a collection that includes elephants, a goat, a wolf, pelicans and more.

The elusive graffiti artist, who has never confirmed his full identity, has been posting the new work on his Instagram account every day since last Monday. The latest piece in Charlton, southeast London, features a rhino on a wall and gives the impression the animal is mounting a broken-down car parked in front of the building.

On Sunday, the artist claimed another artwork depicting piranhas which appeared on a police box near the Central Criminal Court, known as the Old Bailey, in London, The Associated Press reported.

A small crowd of people flocked to the fish tank-themed artwork Monday, taking photos and selfies as workmen placed barriers around it. A spokesman for the City of London Corporation said it was looking at options to preserve it.
Other pieces unveiled last week included pelicans that appeared on the side of a fish shop in Walthamstow, east London, and a silhouette of a howling wolf that was painted on a satellite dish on a garage roof in south London.

People gather to look at an artwork by Britain-based street artist Banksy on an old police sentry box in the City of London in London, Britain, 11 August 2024. EPA/ANDY RAIN

The wolf design was seen taken down by men who carried it off on the same day it was revealed. It is not immediately clear who removed the satellite dish.
Banksy began his career spray-painting buildings in Bristol, England, and has become one of the world’s best-known artists. His work has sold for millions of dollars at auction, and past murals on outdoor sites have often been stolen or removed by building owners soon after going up.



Russian Governor Shows off New Stalin Statue to 'Honor' History

The death mask of Soviet leader Joseph Stalin is exhibited at a museum in his hometown of Gori, Georgia March 1, 2023. REUTERS/Irakli Gedenidze/File Photo
The death mask of Soviet leader Joseph Stalin is exhibited at a museum in his hometown of Gori, Georgia March 1, 2023. REUTERS/Irakli Gedenidze/File Photo
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Russian Governor Shows off New Stalin Statue to 'Honor' History

The death mask of Soviet leader Joseph Stalin is exhibited at a museum in his hometown of Gori, Georgia March 1, 2023. REUTERS/Irakli Gedenidze/File Photo
The death mask of Soviet leader Joseph Stalin is exhibited at a museum in his hometown of Gori, Georgia March 1, 2023. REUTERS/Irakli Gedenidze/File Photo

A new monument to Soviet-era leader Josef Stalin is set to be erected soon in a city in northwest Russia following what the regional governor there said were "appeals from the public".

Vologda Governor Georgy Filimonov published video on Friday showing workers putting the finishing touches to a life-sized statue of the Georgian-born ruler, who ruled the Soviet Union with an iron fist from 1924 until he died in 1953, Reuters reported.

Filimonov, who was appointed to his post last year by President Vladimir Putin, said the statue will be erected in the historic city of Vologda, which has a population of around 300,000 and lies roughly 275 miles (450 km) north of Moscow.

"This decision was triggered by appeals from the public to us," Filimonov wrote on his Telegram channel.

He said the statue would stand near a house where Stalin lived from 1911 to 1912 when exiled in the province for revolutionary activity.

Stalin oversaw rapid industrialisation and victory over Nazi Germany in World War Two but was also responsible for the deaths of millions in political purges, labour camps and famine, according to historians.

In his post, Filimonov seemed to anticipate push-back to the new statue.

"With all due understanding of the ambiguous interpretation of the role of (this) personality, we must recognize the great achievements, know the history of our country, (and) honor and be proud of it," he wrote.

Videos previously published by Filimonov demonstrate an affinity for Soviet leaders and photographs of secret police chiefs Lavrentiy Beria and Felix Dzerzhinsky hang on the walls of his office. He has dubbed a painting of himself shaking hands with Stalin, which hangs in his reception room, as "conceptual."

Filimonov also said on Friday that there were plans to install a monument to Ivan IV, a 16th-century Russian tsar under whom construction of Vologda's Kremlin began.

Popularly known as Ivan the Terrible, his reign was marked by violent purges of the Russian nobility and failed wars against Sweden and Poland.