Tokyo struggles to solve ‘Banksy’ street art mystery - South China Morning Post

Tokyo is trying to verify if a drawing of a rat holding an umbrella that has been sprayed near a station is the work of the famous and mysterious street artist Banksy.

The drawing was on the door near a monorail station in central Tokyo, said a government official.

“We think there’s a possibility it has been done by Banksy,” Koji Sugiyama told AFP.

A rat holding an umbrella is one of Banksy’s most famous artworks.

The government removed the door and placed it in storage Wednesday night to prevent any damage, Sugiyama said.

The drawing is on the bottom left of a door designed to prevent flooding during high tides, near Hinode station in Tokyo. Photo: AFP

Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike posted photos of the painting on Twitter, saying: “There’s a painting of cute rat in Tokyo which could be Banksy’s work! A gift to Tokyo?”

It is unclear when it was painted but local residents contacted the government about the work at the end of last year.

あのバンクシーの作品かもしれないカワイイねずみの絵が都内にありました！東京への贈り物かも？カバンを持っているようです。 pic.twitter.com/aPBVAq3GG3

— 小池百合子 (@ecoyuri) January 17, 2019

The government hopes to find out if it is truly a work by Banksy, but “we still don’t know if there’s an expert in Japan”, the official admitted, adding that the government will discuss ways to verify the painting.

Banksy, a British street artist whose identity is known to only a handful of friends, caused a sensation in October when one of his paintings began shredding itself, just after selling for US$1.4 million.

Experts say Girl with Balloon, which is now called Love is in the Bin, is probably worth even more because the stunt created such a massive media stir.

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