A new mural by Banksy appeared on an exterior wall of the Royal Courts of Justice in London on September 8th. The elusive street artist confirmed the work via a post on Instagram. The new mural, which depicts a judge in a wig and black robe beating a bloodied protester with a gavel, was quickly covered by security.
Banksy did not offer any explanation of the content of the artwork. However, it comes shortly after London police detained almost 900 people during the Palestine Action protest on September 6th. The protest, which drew a crowd of approximately 1,500 people, was held in support of the pro-Palestine group Palestine Action, which the British government designated as a terrorist organization in July.
“When the law is used as a tool to crush civil liberties, it does not extinguish dissent—it strengthens it,” a spokesperson for political organization Defend Our Juries, which organized the protest, told The Guardian. “As Banksy’s artwork shows, the state can try to strip away our civil liberties, but we are too many in number and our resolve to stand against injustice cannot be beaten.”
On Monday morning, court staff placed metal barriers to block the mural from public view. A spokesperson for HM Courts and Tribunals, the government agency responsible for the administration of courts, told the BBC that maintaining the original character of the Royal Courts of Justice, a listed building, is an obligation of the agency.
Banky’s graffiti often criticizes the British government and decries war. Perhaps his most famous anti-war artwork is Flower Thrower (2003), a stencil mural depicting a masked militant throwing a bouquet of flowers in place of a Molotov cocktail, which is located in the West Bank. In 2022, the artist painted seven murals around a war-struck Ukraine.
Banksy’s more recent work, however, has been less overtly political. Last summer, he generated an international buzz for a series of animal-based murals that cropped up around London. The final mural of the series, painted at the London Zoo, depicted a gorilla releasing animals from its confines.
