Tokyo Government Investigates If ‘Rat’ Spray Painting Is Indeed A Work Of Banksy



Image via Yuriko Koike, Governor of Tokyo

Tokyo is in the midst of verifying if a spray painting of a rat holding an umbrella is the work of elusive street artist Banksy.

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

The artwork—which was sprayed on a door near the Hinode monorail station in central Tokyo—has been around for a number of years. However, the government only found out about its possible affiliation with Banksy after being contacted by locals in December 2018.

It is unclear exactly when the painting surfaced, but social media users began uploading photos of it several years ago.

On Wednesday, Governor of Tokyo Yuriko Koike took to Twitter to share pictures of the artwork. “There’s a painting of cute rat in Tokyo which could be Banksy’s work!” she wrote. “A gift to Tokyo? It seems to have a bag.”

The government has since unhinged the door, which was created to prevent flooding during high tides, and has kept it in storage to ensure it doesn’t suffer further damage.

The authorities are also keen to discover the origins of the artwork, but “don’t know if there’s an expert in Japan,” Sugiyama said. Tokyo’s government is now exploring ways to verify if it was created by Banksy.

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

[via AFP, images via Yuriko Koike]

Tokyo Government Investigates If ‘Rat’ Spray Painting Is Indeed A Work Of Banksy
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January 17, 2019 at 11:12PM
via TAXI Daily News http://www.designtaxi.com/news/403188/Tokyo-Government-Investigates-If-Rat-Spray-Painting-Is-Indeed-A-Work-Of-Banksy/