Banksy’s new anti-war artwork ‘stolen’ an hour after its unveiling

A Banksy artwork has been stolen less than an hour after the artist confirmed the piece was his on Instagram.

The enigmatic street artist had unveiled a new anti-war artwork in Peckham, south London, featuring a “stop” traffic sign with three 3D military drones – which is believed to relate to the ongoing Israel Hamas war. 

Less than one hour after its arrival, two anonymous men removed the artwork.

Earlier, Banksy had shared a photo of the artwork to his Instagram to officially confirm he was behind its creation.

Considering the conceptual nature of Banksy’s work, which can involve the destruction of his own pieces, some have speculated that the “theft” was part of the plan all along. 

However, there are so far no indications that Banksy was behind its removal, meaning that the subject matter may be involved. 

Banksy, who often refers to contemporary issues in his work and has previously created street art in Gaza, seems to be calling for a ceasefire with his drone “stop” sign.

In 2015, after visiting Palestine to make a series of murals, he wrote on his website: “Gaza is often described as ‘the world’s largest open-air prison’ because no one is allowed to enter or leave. But that seems a bit unfair to prisons – they don’t have their electricity and drinking water cut off randomly almost every day.”

Earlier this year, we reported that Banksy had seemingly revealed his real name in a newly unearthed interview from 2003. Whether or not it was in fact his real name remains to be confirmed…