A new Banksy mural has appeared on Hornsey Road in North London, using the illusion of greenery to question how cities perform environmental concern without addressing real ecological damage.
Confirmed by Banksy on Instagram, the work features a heavily pruned tree set against a stark white wall, overlaid with a burst of bright green paint. Beside it, a stencilled figure appears to spray the colour onto the surface, as if artificially restoring what has been cut back.
The contrast is deliberate. While the painted “foliage” suggests renewal, the real tree remains bare, a visual metaphor for greenwashing, where environmental gestures are cosmetic rather than structural. The mural implies that appearances of sustainability can mask ongoing harm, particularly in dense urban environments where nature is managed, reduced or displaced.
Banksy’s choice of location reinforces the message. Hornsey Road sits within a city that frequently promotes green initiatives while continuing to prioritise development over genuine ecological recovery. Here, the colour green becomes branding rather than biology.
Shortly after its appearance, the mural was vandalised and later covered up with fencing for protection, a fate that mirrors the fragility of both street art and urban nature itself.
Rather than offering optimism, the work poses a quiet challenge: is painting something green enough, or does real change require more than surface-level solutions?