The new Banksy
The new Banksy in Islington - 8am Monday morning
On Monday morning I was listening to the radio, quite early, as they were discussing a new ‘possible’ Banksy that had appeared over the weekend on a wall in Islington. A quick look at the BBC news site and I realised it was very close to where we live, so I decided to go and take a look. Already there were quite a few people stopping to take photographs. A tree is an integral part of this now ‘confirmed’ Banksy and people have already pointed out that this will make it more difficult to steal! Stand to the side of the artwork and you are just looking at the side of a building now splashed with green paint - a green that perfectly matches the green used on Islington council signs. But stand back, as in this photograph and suddenly you are seeing this bare, pollarded tree in a totally different way. To me it seems this is the point, to make us stop and notice something that we would probably pass each day without a second glance.
These small urban spaces are precious but perhaps often overlooked. And they are vulnerable. A 70 year old Mulberry tree not far from us was recently felled and flats are currently being built in that space. At the weekend I was lucky enough to be in Paris and to walk along the Coulée Verte or the Promenade Plantée. At times you find yourself strolling along a garden path lined with shrubs and daffodils, it’s just that it’s 10 metres above the street level. There is one beautiful spot where you gaze down on a road, lined with stunning white Magnolia stellata trees. The Promenade was a long abandoned mid-19th century viaduct when it was converted into the world’s first elevated park walkway, back in 1993. If you are a regular reader you will know I am fascinated by such spaces. I have been lucky enough to walk along the New York Highline and to visit the Castlefield Viaduct in Manchester and I am excited by what will hopefully in the future be the Camden Highline. The walk in Paris winds its way for 3 miles, both above the roofs and down at street level, at one point passing through old railway tunnels. There is a beautiful shallow rectangular pool which in summer must be framed by roses judging by the trellis at either end. You can see more pictures on my instagram account: ourplantstories_podcast. On a wall is a sign, reminding people that this is a space to ‘promenade’, to walk and though jogging is tolerated it must not get in the way of those walking. Those walking included a cat on a lead!
In urban areas, it seems to me that we need to protect and enhance our green spaces, whatever their size. And we need to encourage those who have big ideas to use brownfield sites to grow things; be they trees or flowers or vegetables. This new Banksy draws our attention to this tree, it is up to us to seek other ways to do the same for the other pockets of nature in our cities.