No, That’s Not a Banksy

Alexis Hyde An artist known as Strömberg has claimed responsibility for this piece in Los Angeles.

It’s not a message from Banksy to the art world.

A Banksy-style stencil that recently appeared in Los Angeles, where the pseudonymous British artist has often worked, is a copycat, his representatives confirmed on Wednesday. The piece, which drew the attention of art blogs and magazinesban after several of Banksy’s street art murals were removed and sent to auction, depicts a soldier brandishing a machine gun over the slogan “Vandals found vandalising this vandalism will be prosecuted.”

“He has used the word ‘vandalism’ before, but the piece is fake,” a spokeswoman for Banksy said by e-mail.

A Los Angeles artist who goes by the name Strömberg is taking credit for the piece; photos of it in its finished version and in production appeared on his Facebook page, along with other images that ape Banksy, like a stencil of his signature rat. “I guess they liked the #vandalism ….. As they haven’t #painted it out yet. Sorry about your wall…. #SirenStudios” he posted with that one, which was apparently imprinted on the wall of a photo studio.

Street art aficionados are on the lookout for a response from Banksy after a spate of his public murals were sent to the auction block, including one that graced a Los Angeles gas station for years. Though he has so far been mum, Banksy has not taken kindly to his work being removed in the past, by refusing to authenticate it, for example. “I’d encourage people not to buy anything by anybody,” he has said, “unless it was created for sale in the first place.”