The rumors are true: Banksy invited himself to the Venice Biennale to reveal his latest work.

Passersby discovered mural and a stencil rat in the style of Banksy on the streets of Venice and the rumors began.

Until today, Banksy has not confirmed they are his works.

Banksy posted a video of himself setting up a stall at the Venice Biennale on Instagram today.

 

In the video, he calls the Biennale “the largest and most prestigious art event in the world.” He also questions why he has never been invited.

The video captures images of Venice, including gondolas and people passing through St. Mark’s Square.

Viewers then see Banksy setting up his stall. As the art display takes shape, passersby stop to look.

The eye-grabbing art features a large cruise ship sailing through the city’s Grand Canal. The Rialto Bridge and St. Mark’s Campanile are featured as well.

The cruise ship quickly takes over the scene and obscures the view of the famous landmarks.

The piece also shows gondolas being forced to stop as they let the ship pass by.

Viewers notice that the art captures a scene from the past, juxtaposed with the modern cruise ship.

Altogether, there are nine paintings that comprise the piece. Each piece is framed in an ornate, gold frame.

Underneath the paintings is a sing that reads “Venice in oil.” This not only references the fact that the pieces are oil paintings, but also refers to the ship.

Banksy’s message with the pieces highlights the issues Venice faces as enormous cruise ships dock in the canals.

The art stall remained in place until police officers arrived asking Banksy for authorization to sell there.

In true Banksy style, he did not have authorization. The art stall was then removed.

At the end of the video, a man wheels the artwork away, as a cruise ships sails off in the background.