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An artwork which appeared overnight on the side of a building near Finsbury Park in London is suspected of being by street artist Banksy.
A mass of green has been painted behind a cut-back mature tree to look like foliage, with a stencil of a person holding a pressure hose next to it.
James Peak, who created the BBC Radio 4 series The Banksy Story, rushed to see the work after receiving a tip-off.
“To my mind it looks like a dead cert,” he said.
“But as ever with Banksy – you never quite know, until he fesses up by posting it on his website.”
The elusive artist officially confirms his work by posting pictures on his website and social media – which has not yet been done for the Finsbury tree.
But documentary maker Mr Peak said the artwork, which appeared on Sunday in Hornsey Road in north London, had the hallmarks of a Banksy.
“The message is clear,” he said. “Nature’s struggling and it is up to us to help it grow back.”
Mr Peak said: “If you go way back to the beginning of his work, he is always looking for something he can do with minimum effort to make something look really cool.”
He added that the mural would probably have been created using a pressure hose or fire extinguisher, to quickly spray the “leaves” onto the wall behind the tree.
The colour of the paint used also matches that used by Islington Council for signs in the local area, which Mr Peak said showed the Banksy eye for detail.
“It’s spring now, and this tree should be bursting forth with leaves, but Banksy must have cycled past and thought how miserable it looks,” he said.
“So, on St Patrick’s Day, he has taken exactly the same shade of green Islington Council use for their street signs and used a pressure hose or a fire extinguisher to spray the leaves back in, onto the rather dilapidated wall behind.”
While he was viewing the art, Mr Peak met Islington councillor Flora Williamson while she was out canvassing.
She later tweeted: “By far the most exciting thing to happen on today’s canvass session on Hornsey Road was seeing that Banksy had come to Tollington over night.
“Lots of local interest – I’m a fan of it.”
Mr Peak also added there was often a “Banksy effect” which had been seen in places like Port Talbot and Norfolk when artworks had appeared there, with people rushing to take pictures of the murals.
You listen to all episodes of The Banksy Story here.
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