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
TT

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.



Van Gogh’s Starry Night Recreated as Park in Bosnian Hills

A drone view of a park transformed into a replica of Vincent Van Gogh's famous painting "Starry Night," featuring fields of lavender, shrubs, and lakes connected by an array of paths, a project that mirrors the celebrated artwork in a natural setting in Visoko, Bosnia and Herzegovina, August 3, 2024. (Reuters)
A drone view of a park transformed into a replica of Vincent Van Gogh's famous painting "Starry Night," featuring fields of lavender, shrubs, and lakes connected by an array of paths, a project that mirrors the celebrated artwork in a natural setting in Visoko, Bosnia and Herzegovina, August 3, 2024. (Reuters)
TT

Van Gogh’s Starry Night Recreated as Park in Bosnian Hills

A drone view of a park transformed into a replica of Vincent Van Gogh's famous painting "Starry Night," featuring fields of lavender, shrubs, and lakes connected by an array of paths, a project that mirrors the celebrated artwork in a natural setting in Visoko, Bosnia and Herzegovina, August 3, 2024. (Reuters)
A drone view of a park transformed into a replica of Vincent Van Gogh's famous painting "Starry Night," featuring fields of lavender, shrubs, and lakes connected by an array of paths, a project that mirrors the celebrated artwork in a natural setting in Visoko, Bosnia and Herzegovina, August 3, 2024. (Reuters)

Amid the green hills and meadows of central Bosnia, a local businessman has realized his long-held dream: recreating one of Vincent van Gogh's most famous paintings, The Starry Night, in the form of a nature park.

Halim Zukic from the town of Visoko decided to create a park after buying some land and a cottage in a nearby village 20 years ago, but he had no clear idea of what it should look like.

Then, six years ago, as he stood on a hill watching tractors in a hay meadow, he noticed their spiral-shaped wheel tracks in the earth, which reminded him of the swirling motifs in Van Gogh's canvas from 1889.

"From that moment, I was no longer in doubt," Zukic told Reuters. But his vision took time, money and effort to realize.

Zukic wanted the 10-hectare Starry Night park to be part of a larger complex offering a retreat to visitors. He planted more trees and created 13 lakes using existing natural streams.

To match the painting, 130,000 bushes of lavender in six different shades were planted, as well as other medicinal and aromatic herbs such as sage, echinacea, wormwood and chamomile, forming colorful circles, spirals and natural amphitheaters.

Zukic did all the landscaping himself. He said recreating the painting had helped him understand artists and the creative challenges they face.

"This is the largest representation of The Starry Night, and the result of 20 years of dreams, of living those dreams to make them real," he said.

The Starry Night park will focus on art programs and the promotion of central Bosnia's cultural heritage, Zukic said.