A mysterious new mural spotted on a wall in Birmingham city centre has prompted speculation it may be a new Banksy piece.
The mural shows Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz without shoes, reaching for her famous ruby high-heels, which are hanging on a nearby electric cable.
It appeared overnight on the side of Gay Village Bar Sidewalk in Birmingam’s Kent St, prompting director Phil Oldershaw to say he planned to protect the mural whether it was a Banksy original or not.
He said: ‘It wasn’t there when the manager locked up last night. It’s still a mystery.
‘I’ve asked our maintenance team to go and cover it in perspex – I’m going to protect it whether it’s Banksy or not. It would be a great thing for Birmingham – and it makes Southside look great too!’
On his Instagram page, Oldershaw said there had been a ‘media frenzy’ ever since the artwork was unveiled.
However, Banksy has not claimed the mural on social media, and in a statement to the PA news agency, a spokesman for the artist said: ‘This isn’t by the artist Banksy.’
The actual artist behind the Dorothy mural has not yet been revealed.
Banksy’s last confirmed artwork appeared on a building on Hornsey Road in Finsbury Park, London, in March.
Bright green paint was sprayed on the side of the residential building, in front of a cut-back tree, creating the impression of its foliage, with a stencil of a person holding a pressure hose, on March 18.
The mural immediately attracted a gaggle of visitors and vandals alike, and prompted the owner of the building to fork out £2,500 to keep it safe after it was defaced after just two days.
In December 2023, a stop sign in London with three drones painted over the top was stolen by a man with bolt cutters within an hour of it being posted on Banksy’s Instagram page.
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