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London has always been a hot spot for artists, but Banksy is the Enfant terrible who truly took the art world by storm. Since appearing on the street art scene in Bristol in the early 2000s, Banksy’s art left his satirical touch on the city streets, buildings, the London Underground and unexpected corners of the UK capital.
Wonder where to find Banksy’s graffiti?
Banksy art locations in London are:
- Clipstone Street, Fitzrovia
- Bruton Lane, West End
- Portobello Road, Notting Hill
- Turnpike Lane, North London
Even though the world’s largest touring exhibition of the street artist’s work was recently inaugurated, ‘The Art of Banksy’, we believe there’s no better way to enjoy the street artist work where it belongs: quite literally - the streets!
The show is worth a visit, but as the artworks are all on loan from private collections, the show is entirely unauthorised by the artist, in true Banksy style.
That being said, London has some of the best-known public artworks by trailblazing artists. With each piece of art having its own thought-provoking story, we did a round-up of some of his most brilliant work.
For you to enjoy, in the open-air art show that is London.
Banksy Art Locations London to Visit
#1 Fitzrovia: If Graffiti Changed Anything
One of Banksy’s most iconic art pieces, ‘If Graffiti Changed Anything It Would Be Illegal’, is a pretty self-explanatory mural located in Central London on a wall on Clipstone Street, Fitzrovia.
Appeared overnight on Easter Monday in 2011, it depicts one of Banksy’s iconic rats underneath the writing in red reading, “If graffiti changed anything, it would be illegal”. This is a reference to the 20th-century political activist Emma Goldman who campaigned for Women’s rights, who notably said: “If voting ever changed anything, it would be illegal”.
#2 Bruton Lane, West End: Shop’ Til You Drop
Also known as the Falling Shopper, this Banksy mural is located on Bruton Lane on the side of a large office building in the heart of the commercial West End district. The artist chose the location to send a strong message against the dangers of consumerism, a reoccurring topic in his work.
The mural was painted (again) in November 2011 in broad daylight. Scaffolding and a tarpaulin were used to make sure nobody caught the artist. The graffiti is located spectacularly high and depicts a woman with a full shopping trolley mid-fall from the top of a building.
#3 ‘French Painter’, Portobello Road, London
This graffiti creates a strong contrast between the fairly recent new graffiti medium but depicted as painted by a pensive painter, thought to be Velázquez. It’s located on the corner of Acklam and Portobello Road. Whether it’s meant to represent street art as the masterpiece of the 21 century or a Banksy-Esque creative irony, it’s worth passing by this gem in the heart of Notting Hill.
#4 Jubilee, Turnpike Lane, north London
‘Jubilee’ is the artwork on the wall of a Poundland store on Whymark Avenue in Wood Green, North London. This graffiti is a stencil of a boy sewing Union Jack bunting. It has been interpreted as a protest against the use of sweatshops to manufacture Diamond Jubilee and London Olympics memorabilia in 2012.
