A new piece of artwork in the style of Banksy has surfaced in Nottingham, England this week. The graffiti appears on a wall outside of a beauty salon, depicting a young girl hula-hooping with a bicycle tire. An actual bike that is missing a rear tire is then locked to a pole right in front of the painting.
Banksy has yet to confirm the artwork on his Instagram or website, but the piece bears a striking resemblance to his overall style. A nearby shop owner says he saw the painting being executed, however, telling BBC that he witnessed a van with blacked-out windows pull up earlier in the week.
"I only saw the driver. I didn't know what was going on or whether I should call the police," he said. "He pretended like he had broken down but he was there for at least two hours."
During an encounter with the mysterious individual, the onlooker asked who the artist was. "He just winked at me," he said. "I'm not going to say whether it is Banksy or not, it definitely looks like one but no-one saw who painted it."
Some locals believe Banksy could be using the artwork to give the people of Nottingham a distraction from coronavirus, as the city currently has the highest infection rate in the UK. Others think it could be a nod to the area's famous Raleigh bicycle factory.
Banksy has a tendency to post his artwork on Instagram, so he may very well claim the piece sooner or later. In the meantime, head on over to BBC for more on the story.
