A new piece of artwork has appeared on the side of a building in Easton, and there is speculation that it could be by Banksy.
The street art is located at the bottom of Colston Road in the east Bristol neighbourhood. It shows three children – two are looking upwards into the sky, and a smaller child is drawn facing the wall, waving a stick with one of the T-shirts the artist designed in aid of the ‘Colston Four’ attached to it.
The elusive Bristol artist has not yet confirmed or denied whether the artwork is from him. Bristol Live has approached Banksy’s representatives for confirmation.
READ MORE: Colston Road renamed to honour the people who pulled down controversial statue
The road on which the artwork has appeared – Colston Road – was given a new name last month as Bristol continues to grapple with the legacy of slave trader Edward Colston. It was renamed ‘Colston Four Road’ in honour of the four people who pulled down the Edward Colston statue amid Black Lives Matter protests in June 2020, but the road sign was then defaced with the word ‘yobs’ painted over it.
The four people who pulled down the statue were cleared at trial of criminal damage for pulling down the statue, with the defence team making the successful argument that leaving the statue up was a hate crime against the people of Bristol, and therefore pulling it down was the prevention of a crime.
On Saturday, December 11, Banksy announced the sale of limited edition shirts with all proceeds going to support the Colston Four. They sold out in just seven hours. In the street art, a child is seen waving one of those shirts attached to a stick.
There is no confirmation yet of whether this is a Banksy piece of work. Although many elements point to it being by the elusive artist, some have said that there is not much evidence of his signature use of stencils in his work.
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