The Weird Sculpture by Banksy

The View From Here — 1 June 2026

Banksy statue — Credit: Author

Introduction

In the UK, we have a street artist, who goes by the name of Banksy. No one knows his real name. What we do know is that his art appears overnight, unexpectedly, out of nowhere.

The latest piece of art is actually a sculpture in Waterloo Place, central London. It’s a man wearing a suit walking forwards holding an enormous flag, part of which is blown across his face.

How in the world this was erected in the middle of the night with all the security around that area is anyone’s guess! Apparently, Banksy has a very professional crew supporting him and is likely to able to pull such a stunt off within minutes without being noticed by security before it’s too late.

Because of the audacity of it, this artwork was featured in the news, would you believe?

Security

Shortly after it was discovered, security put up barriers around it and, while we were visiting it, there was a security man on the side. Admittedly, he seemed rather relaxed, because no one was causing any trouble taking photos and looking at the strange statue.

He’s standing up against one of the bollards on the right of the picture, with the words SECURITY across the back of his jacket.

Official

Westminster City Council is responsible for the area and has given official approval of this, saying:

We’re excited to see Banksy’s latest sculpture in Westminster, making a striking addition to the city’s vibrant public art scene.

While we have taken initial steps to protect the statue, at this time it will remain accessible for the public to view and enjoy.

Statue

The story behind this statue has to do with the fact that ‘every Banksy piece is a campaign’ as James Peak, creator of the BBC podcast series The Banksy Story, put it.

What you see is probably meant to be a politician. Who else would be carrying a flag dressed like that? Clearly, it represents a man of power marching forwards, yet blinded by his flag. Unable to see, he’s about to fall off the plinth and into danger.

This is far from the sort of statue you see in London. Made of resin, it captures something quite extraordinary.

At the base of the plinth, Banksy’s signature has been etched.

Banksy’s signature — Credit: Author

In the background is a gilded statue of Athena. Ironically, she’s holding her spear in her right hand just like the Banksy statue is holding the flag pole in the right hand.

Athenaeum Club

The building the Athena statue is on, covered in scaffolding, is the Athenaeum Club, a private members’ club in London, founded in 1824.

Past members include famous names such as novelist Charles Dickens, biologist Charles Darwin, English painter JMW Turner, and civil engineer Isambard Kingdom Brunel. Even the American-born writer Henry James was a member, and New Zealand-born physicist Ernest Rutherford, who is regarded as the father of nuclear physics.

Finally…

On the day we visited, an artist was busily painting Banksy’s statue on his canvas. He’s the man in the foreground with the pale burgundy baseball cap holding a paintbrush in his right hand.

Since we don’t know how long this statue will be there, we went to see it as soon as we could.

What do you think of this statue?

Before finishing, we nearly missed a Banksy drawing on the plinth. It’s of a man sitting, wearing a bowler hat with a tap (faucet) handle over the top.

What it’s supposed to mean is beyond me. If you have any ideas, do please leave them in the comments.

Drawing on plinth — Credit: Andy Read

Thank you for reading

People, who’ve asked to be tagged: Aidan Lu Skerdoo