Banksy mural sprouts beside tree in London, carrying environmental message

LONDON (AP) – A new Banksy mural drew crowds to a London street on Monday, even before the elusive graffiti artist confirmed that the work was his. The artwork in the Finsbury Park neighbourhood covers the wall of a four-storey residential building and shows a small figure holding a pressure hose beside a large cherry tree. Green paint has been sprayed across the wall, replicating the absent leaves of the tree, which has been severely pruned in a technique known as pollarding. Banksy claimed the work by posting before and after photos of the location on his official Instagram account. The new attraction drew a stream of onlookers who took photos and snapped selfies. Many discerned an environmental message in the vibrant green artwork, which appeared on Sunday. “The tree looks very sad without branches and without greenery,” said Pura Lawler, on her way to a gym class. She felt Banksy was saying something about “destroying the forests, destroying the greenery”. ABOVE & BELOW: A woman takes a picture on her phone of a new Banksy painting on a wall in London; close-up details of the new Banksy mural; and people take photos of the painting. PHOTO: AP PHOTO: AP...