The illusive artist makes a statement about rough justice. (Updated 12 Sep 2025)
A bewigged judge using his gavel to smite a protester is not an image the Royal Courts of Justice would happily accommodate on the outside of their building, even when created by a famous artist.
Banksy's latest artwork, depicting such a scene, was hastily covered over, after it appeared overnight on the Carey Street side of the building. Two security guards were placed before the obscured satire.
The stencil is a not-so-subtle reference to the arrest of hundreds of people over recent weekends, whose only crime was to align themselves with the banned protest group Palestine Action in solidarity against the genocide in Gaza.
The secretive artist has confirmed his involvement in the artwork, via Instagram.
The two security guards themselves became part of the artwork. The world's media descended on Carey Street to snap the men.
We, of course, joined them. Such was the frenzy that two different media organisations asked if they could do a vox-pop with your correspondent — the media inadvertently interviewing the media about a work of art that nobody can see. Such is the collective madness that descends on any new Banksy, even after all these years.
Most Banksy stencils these days are prized non-objects, carefully preserved for posterity (and potential sale). This one, somehow painted beneath a security camera on a sensitive building, was not be embraced so warmly by the landowner.
Within a day, the work had been scrubbed and the security presence was lifted. Happily, the job was only half done, creating a faded stencil that now carries even more meaning as an attempt to whitewash Banksy's message. Well played, everyone.
See our map and list of all Banksy artworks in London.
