Has Banksy unveiled a new artwork in Wales?

He’s the mystery man whose artwork is worth millions.

His artwork which majors on social criticism of the problems and absurdities of contemporary Western society has captivated a global audience while his true identity remains a secret.

Of course, we in Wales are more than familiar with the artist whose Season’s Greeting’s artwork attracted huge attention when it was unveiled in Port Talbot in December 2018.

A searing commentary on pollution in the town, it triggered a saga which ultimately saw the artwork removed from the area, when it was sold to a collector.

Nevertheless, it inspired a street art explosion in the town, which has now been dubbed the street art capital of Wales.

That’s why there was much excitement today when pictures of what was believed could be another Banksy artwork in Wales were posted to Facebook.

While out walking on the Taff Trail, Facebook user John Brian came across a stencilled artwork of a man floating into the air holding a balloon dog.

Writing in the Welsh history, culture and language group on Facebook, he excitedly hoped he had come across a new artwork from the enigmatic artist and appealed for help in identifying whether it was indeed the famous Bansky.

He wrote: “SCOOP: BREAKING NEWS IN SOUTH WALES!!!
“Sunday 11th August, I made, what I thought was a rather remarkable discovery. It was on the Taff Trail between Quakers Yard and Abercynon Fire Station.
“On the first lot of those gigantic concrete pillar that support the overhead road, is a lot of graffiti. Yet among some eyesores we have that rather talented RCT mural artist’s (Tee2Sugars) professional representation of an all-seeing eye (photo below). This stands out strikingly against the graffiti .
“BUT…my (what I consider) remarkable discovery was something quite different. Almost hidden to passers-by, (certainly to those motorised) and behind the foremost tall concrete columns, is what stopped me ‘dead in my tracks!’
“I saw what appears to be an artwork by the very enigmatic, the very famous, the very brilliant and the very ‘bashful’ street artist, BANKSY – the elusive street artist, whose real name is Robin Gunningham. (See photos below.)
“The artist has depicted a man in BANKSY ‘s usual black style, strangely heading skywards attached to a tiny balloon.
‘His artwork is often very difficult to steal because it is usually on walls, though people still try. Hope they won’t with this one or the A470 will collapse and we’ll have even more traffic jams!
“N.b it is possible that one of our own exceptionality talented street artists, (e.g. pseudonym Tee2Sugars) did it and modestly wants to remain anonymous.
“WHO CAN HELP US SOLVE THIS MYSTERY?”

Questions were raised in the group and while debate raged the mystery artist was finally identified.

On this occasion it wasn’t actually Bansky, but Wales’ own version of the mystery man, an equally enigmatic street artist from Swansea named RVK, who displayed the image on his Instagram page.

RVK came to prominence in 2019 when a number of pieces of art suddenly appeared around Merthyr town centre.

They were all signed by the artist and were compared to Banksy as they all bore similar hallmarks – a humorous social commentary style and the use of stencils.

Using popular cultural icons from musician John Lennon to characters from iconic movies such as Star Wars, Pulp Fiction and Trainspotting, the artwork was met with positivity from locals who took to social media at the time to express their admiration for the work of the mysterious RVK.

Since then he has created a number of humorous pieces around Merthyr and Swansea that can be seen on his Instagram page.

As for the identity of the mystery artist, much like Banksy nobody seems to know.

RVK’s Merthyr street art

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As for the actual Banksy himself, he’s been hitting the headlines over the past week with a series of artworks unveiled on the streets of London.

Today he unveiled the eighth artwork in his animal-themed collection, a silhouette of a rhinoceros which looks as though it is climbing on top of a car.

The street artist has been posting artwork to his Instagram at about 1pm every day since Monday August 5, and the latest piece shows a rhino mounting a silver Nissan Micra, with a traffic cone on its bonnet.

On Westmoor Street in Charlton, south east London, the work is positioned on the side of a building and gives the appearance the animal is mounting another rhino in the shape of the broken-down car, with the traffic cone representing a horn.

His first piece depicted a goat and was followed by silhouettes of elephants, monkeys, a wolf, pelicans, a cat and fish, which have all popped up in various locations across London.

On Sunday the street artist confirmed he was behind a work depicting a school of piranhas which appeared on a police sentry box in the City of London.