A new Banksy mural has surfaced this weekend on the walls of the Royal Courts of Justice. It depicts a figure in a judicial wig and robes swinging a blow at a protester splayed on the ground, a splash of crimson hitting a nearby sign. It didn’t last long. Authorities quickly encased the entire scene in protective plastic sheeting, stationing security and metal barriers in front of it, as if to quarantine the image.
Banksy claimed it quietly on Instagram: just the location, nothing more. Yet on the street, its arrival sparked instant conversation. Passersby stopped to look, to take pictures with their phones, to wonder why now. Its appearance comes just days after mass arrests (over 900) at a pro-Palestine rally, though the piece itself names no specific cause.
Carey Street, typically a quiet legal thoroughfare, was transformed; it was crowded with people—office workers on their break, residents, tourists—all watching the official effort to box up the art. A local man named Matteo called the cover-up “disgusting,” arguing it revealed the establishment’s anxiety about a simple painting on a wall.
This is what Banksy does. His work lands like a visual grenade in everyday life. Last year, it was piranhas in a police box and a gorilla lifting a zoo grate. In Bethlehem, he painted the nativity scene next to a towering separation wall. He uses mischief and stark contrast to make us look twice at the structures around us.
Choosing the court’s wall is everything. A judge enacting violence on the home of justice itself turns the architecture into a statement. You can’t separate the message from the mortar. The fallen protester isn’t only a character; it’s a portrait of defiance met with force.
Now hidden, the work has already become one of the most viewed images on the internet. It rolls on in news reports and arguments over coffee. This is the fate of a Banksy: a physical thing that is quickly temporary, but an idea that is instantly permanent. He operates in the space between vandal and virtuoso, anonymous yet unmistakable. His art has so much more depth than any other random public mural. The wall, the street, and the power they represent pull everyone who sees his work into the conversation.
Emerging from Bristol’s early 1990s graffiti scene as part of the DryBreadZ Crew, Banksy’s foundations were steeped in the raw energy of anarcho-punk and the pioneering stencil work of Blek le Rat. His early, freehand pieces were direct conduits for social and political dissent. The subsequent shift to stencils—a move reportedly born from a need for speed and stealth—crystallised the precise, instantly recognisable aesthetic that now defines his practice.
This signature style has since materialised on a global stage, from London’s backstreets to the concrete expanse of Israel’s West Bank barrier. His visual language, combining dark humour with arresting imagery, consistently aims at the pillars of capitalism, the absurdity of war, and the contradictions of modern society. Iconic pieces like “Girl with Balloon,” “The Flower Thrower,” and the resigned optimism of “There Is Always Hope” have transcended their physical locations to become part of a shared cultural lexicon.
His practice effortlessly disregards the boundaries between street art and the institutional art world. The 2010 documentary “Exit Through the Gift Shop,” which premiered at Sundance and received an Academy Award nomination, cleverly turned a mirror on the absurdities of art-world celebrity and authenticity. Later, with “Dismaland,” he masterfully subverted the concept of the artist-led exhibition, presenting a deeply cynical, brilliantly detailed parody of a theme park that dissected consumerism and failed utopias.
This deliberate anonymity is not merely a gimmick but a core tenet of his work. It strips away the cult of personality, forcing a pure focus on the art’s message and its unpredictable, often nocturnal, appearance in the urban landscape. The mystery amplifies the impact of each new piece, transforming a city wall into a site of global conversation. Through this elusive presence and the potent clarity of his visual statements, Banksy continues to provoke, challenge, and redefine the contours of contemporary art.
Top Photo: Banksy Mural At The Royal Courts Of Justice, Courtesy Banksy Instagram