Daily Times

In what could be the latest work of anonymous street artist Banksy, a piece of graffiti has appeared overnight on the side of ‘Reading Prison’.

It is believed to have come up in the early hours of Monday and was spotted on the side of the now-closed institution.

According to reports, while the artist has not confirmed that the work is his, people are going berserk, for he usually claims it by adding photos to his Instagram account roughly 24 hours later. But the Bristol-based street artist has done none of that. His last posted original artwork continues to be that of the sneezing lady on a house in Bristol.

In his purportedly latest work, a man dressed in a striped prisoner’s uniform is depicted as scaling the side of the building on a knotted rope. The rope appears to be made of paper, as beneath him hangs a typewriter from which emerges a sheet of paper, part of the same rope.

In his purportedly latest work, a man dressed in a striped prisoner’s uniform is depicted as scaling the side of the building on a knotted rope. The rope appears to be made of paper, as beneath him hangs a typewriter from which emerges a sheet of paper, part of the same rope

Some people have speculated the man in the art is meant to represent Irish poet Oscar Wilde, who was imprisoned at the jail between 1895 and 1897, on charges of “gross indecency with other men”, states an Independent report. In fact, following his release from the prison, Wilde had written the poem ‘The Ballad of Reading Gaol’ about a hanging that had taken place while he served his sentence.

According to Berkshire Live, people are getting increasingly impatient and are entreating for the artist to come and claim his work. Per the outlet, one collector has said he was “99 percent sure” it was a Banksy original, and another artist – who has followed Banksy’s work for nearly 20 years – was also convinced. In fact, a passerby who saw a team setting up the scaffolding on February 28, also said he saw a “very scruffy man” with his hood up nearby, convinced that it was the elusive artist!

Now let us wait for Banksy to officially post the artwork on his Instagram.