More Banksy-style murals have been discovered in North Wales as mystery deepens over the artist’s identity. A pheasant has been painted on a commercial garage in St Asaph and a boy clutching an umbrella has been attracting attention on Rhyl promenade.
A small but cute owl has also appeared inside a bus shelter in Trefnant. The fourth of Denbighshire’s murals was hard to miss – a knight on horseback in Ruthin. Meanwhile, a Banksy-style artwork of a dairy cow was also discovered in Mold, Flintshire, on Tuesday morning (January 14). You can see pictures of the knight and the cow here.
All five murals materialised over the course of two nights. While many admirers have speculated they may have been created by Banksy, the world-famous street artist often claims responsibility for his work within 48 hours.
To date, nothing has appeared on his Instagram account. The last entry, just before Christmas, was a mother breastfeeding her infant child with a rusted pipe in place of her nipple. Interpreted as a critique of Britain’s polluted waterways, the figures were imagined as the Virgin Mary suckling baby Jesus.
Another candidate cited for the five North Wales murals is graffiti artist DNZ-UK, originally from North Wales but now based in London. However, his last claimed work is from December 22, depicting an emaciated deer tied to a dustbin in Clapton, London. It was captioned “not just for Christmas”.
Despite the murals’ continued absence of authorship, they’ve been well received in their respective communities. However, Trefnant’s owl – seeming perched on a seat in a bus shelter on the A525 near Nant y Patrick – did cause a few flutters. “I saw it this morning whilst walking the dogs at 7.30am,” said one local. “I had the fright of my life as it was still dark and the owl was just sitting there!” Already, the painted owl has been embraced as Trefnant’s “new mascot”. The North Wales Live Whatsapp community for top stories and breaking news is live now – here’s how to sign up
Trefnant’s owl gave one woman the ‘fright of my life’
(Image: Shane Wetton)
Rhyl’s new mural is on the promenade
(Image: Alan Evans)
Until this week, St Asaph’s best-known pheasant was a 3ft-tall wooden sculpture among trees by the River Elwy. Its 15 minutes of fame came during Storm Babet in 2023 when the memorial was ripped from its moorings by floodwater. After “surfing” six miles downriver, it was recovered mostly undamaged from Rhyl beach and returned to St Asaph.
But this now has a rival in the form of a mural that appeared yesterday (January 15) on the wall of the LNS Fountain Garage, again located on the A525 in the city centre. It appears as if startled into the air from behind a stone wall at the side of the garage.
Unbrellas have been a recurring theme in Banksy’s artwork, clutched by a girl, man and a couple of rats. Rhyl’s street artwork, on the rear of the resort’s bowling green building, next to Rhyl Events Arena, has a boy holding an umbrella, apparently being blown skywards Mary Poppins style.
St Asaph’s pheasant takes off
(Image: Shannon Smith)
Rhyl’s umbrella boy sails into the air
(Image: James Jones)
This mural differs in style from the others, being block painted in black and slightly translucent. In the town it brought back memories of another Banksy-style mural near Rhyl lifeboat station that appeared in late 2022. Again, it depicted a young boy, this time standing next to an anchor and a heart-shaped lifebuoy.
Denbighshire Council has said it can’t intervene to protect murals on private property. However the local authority did erect a Perspex covering over the RNLI mural – only for graffiti artist DNZ-UK to claim authorship.
Irrespective of the artist’s identity, Rhyl’s umbrella boy has got the thumbs-up from the town’s residents. “Looks beautiful… actual art,” said one woman online. “Not just swear words and insulting graffiti.” Sign up for the North Wales Live newsletter sent twice daily to your inbox
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