​Mysterious new artwork suspected to be a Banksy appears in London

A mysterious new artwork thought to be that of Banksy has appeared in Farringdon, central London.

The piece, which depicts a young girl holding a set of gold balloons in the shape of toilet seats, was spotted on the morning of Thursday, April 3, on a boarded-up public toilet in Clerkenwell Green.

The artwork appeared alongside a notice forbidding its removal, the Daily Mail reports. The notice reads: “It is forbidden to remove or tamper with this artwork”.

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The notice also explains that “verification of authenticity” is currently being looked into by “the appropriate channel”. Banksy has not yet claimed the piece as his own, which he regularly does via Instagram after the appearance of a new artwork.

One local business owner whose building overlooks the new suspected Banksy piece told the Daily Mail that a man had spoke to him earlier in the week, saying that he was “doing a bit of decorating” on the scaffolding nearby. “But then [the graffiti] came after,” he said.

In recent Banksy news, the anonymous artist is set to appear in court this month amidst a legal battle with Full Colour Black, a greeting card company selling recreations of Banksy’s artwork.

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The copyright case will see Banksy and his team appear in court to speak in front of a judge for the first time publicly. Full Colour Black’s owner, Andrew Gallagher, claims that Banksy has failed to use his trademark.

The elusive artist has denied this, writing in a statement (via ARTnews): “A greeting card company is contesting the trademark I hold to my art, and attempting to take custody of my name so they can sell their fake Banksy merchandise legally.”

Check out a photo of the suspected new Banksy below.

[Via Daily Mail]

Gemma Ross is Mixmag's Associate Digital Editor, follow her on Twitter