Banksy sighted on London Underground as he unveils work urging people to wear face masks

The street artist made a rare appearance in a video, showing how he dressed up as a cleaner to create his newest work

UPDATE: Banksy’s face mask artwork scrubbed from London Underground train

Street artist Banksy has unveiled his latest creation on the London Underground in an effort to underline the importance of wearing a mask on public transport amid the coronavirus outbreak.

Banksy uploaded a video titled If You Don't Mask – You Don't Get on to his Instagram page on Tuesday. It shows the reclusive artist wearing protective gear and spray-painting pictures of rats sneezing on the inside of the train to illustrate how not wearing a mask helps spread Covid-19.

One image features a rat holding a bottle of antibacterial handwash, while another depicts a rat using a face mask as a parachute.

The video closes with the words ‘I get lockdown’ painted on to the wall of an Underground station, followed by ‘but I get up again’ sprayed on to the inside of a train door.

Wearing face masks on public transport is compulsory in the UK, one of the countries worst hit by the virus. There have been more than 290,000 confirmed cases of Covid-19 in the country and more than 44,000 deaths.

This is the latest piece by Banksy, who rarely makes spoken statements, choosing instead to speak through his work.

Last month, the street artist shared a new piece of art on his Instagram page, seemingly inspired by the death of George Floyd and the Black Lives Matter protests.

Little is known about Banksy, who makes an effort to keep his identity hidden, revealing nothing about his personal life. However, he is never one to shy away from social commentary.

In May, a work was unveiled at a UK hospital, depicting a young boy putting his Spider-Man and Batman toys in the bin, instead choosing to play with a doll of a nurse, making her the new superhero.

A month earlier, he seemed to give the world an insight into his set-up as he too was working from home, with a bathroom covered in his trademark stencilled rats. The artist joked: "My wife hates it when I work from home."

Scroll through more of Banksy's work in the gallery below:

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  People take pictures of a new Banksy artwork in Islington, London, in March 2024. Getty Images

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  A work by Banksy is removed in Peckham, south-east London, in December 2023. Getty Images

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  Graffiti created by British artist Banksy under a protective screen on the damaged wall of a residential building in Irpin, Ukraine in April 2023. Getty Images

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  An artwork painted on the side of a property in Herne Bay, Kent in March 2023. PA

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  The artwork by street artist Banksy, titled 'Valentine's Day Mascara' on the side of a building in Margate, Kent in February 2023. PA

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  A Reveller walks by a graffiti attributed to Banksy as he arrives at Worthy Farm in Somerset during the Glastonbury Festival in June 2022. Reuters

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  A Banksy artwork in Nottingham in October 2020. Reuters

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  Show me the Monet by Banksy at Sotheby's Galleries in London in October 2020. AFP

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  Banksy's Sunflowers From Petrol Station, inspired by Vincent van Gogh. PA

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  Banksy captioned the photo of this work Game Changer. Photo: Instagram

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  A customised stab-proof vest by street artist Banksy at the Design Museum in London. EPA

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  A Banksy stencil posted on Instagram in June 2020, with a caption asking 'What should we do with the empty plinth in the middle of Bristol?' Photo: Instagram

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  A Banksy piece inspired by the death of George Floyd and subsequent Black Lives Matter protests. Photo: Instagram

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  Girl with a Pierced Eardrum, in Bristol. Getty

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  Banksy released a new piece in his bathroom as he worked from home during the Covid-19 pandemic in March 2020. Photo: Instagram

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  A Valentine's Day piece by Banksy appeared in Bristol in February 2020. Reuters

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  A Christmas mural by Banksy in Birmingham, December 2019. The piece made a statement about homelessness. Reuters

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  Banksy's pop-up shop called Gross Domestic Product in Croydon, London in 2019. AFP

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  A view of Banksy's migrant child mural, half-submerged in high water in Venice, November 2019. EPA

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  Devolved Parliament at Sotheby's auction house in London, featuring chimpanzees as MPs in the House of Commons. EPA

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  A Banksy artwork in Marble Arch, London, at the site of an Extinction Rebellion protest camp. EPA

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  Love is in the Bin at the Frieder Burda Museum in Baden-Baden, Germany. EPA

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  There is Always Hope. EPA

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  Season's Greetings (2018) was painted on a garage in Port Talbot, Wales. Getty

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  Part of the unauthorised exhibition entitled Banksy, Genius or Vandal? in Madrid, December 2018. EPA

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  A piece by Banksy, acquired by actor Robin Williams, was among auction items on display in Los Angeles, September 2018. EPA

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  A Brexit-inspired mural by Banksy in Dover, south-east England. EPA

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  A veiled woman in mourning beside the Bataclan concert venue in Paris where 90 people where killed by terrorists in November 2015. EPA

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  An artwork attributed to Banksy showing Napoleon's horse rearing, in Paris, June 2018. EPA

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  A mural depicting a rat on a popped champagne cork, in Paris, June 2018. EPA

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  A rat in the inner portion of a clock in New York City, March 2018. EPA

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  A Banksy mural highlights the imprisonment of Turkish artist and journalist Zehra Dogan, on the Bowery, New York City in February 2019. EPA

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  A Banksy painting appeared on the first day of the 2017 Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah. EPA

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  Flying Copper on display in Berlin. EPA

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  The Bridge Farm Primary School where a new mural appeared during half term in Withchurch, England. The mural was a thanks to the school for naming a school wing after Banksy. EPA

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  The Son of a Migrant from Syria depicting Apple's Steve Jobs in the refugee camp called The Jungle in Calais, France. EPA

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  Dismaland, a temporary exhibition that opened at a derelict seafront lido in Weston-Super-Mare, England in 2015. Getty

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  Bomb Hugger after it was defaced in Hamburg, February 2015. EPA

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  Banksy appeared to comment on methods used by Britain's intelligence services with this piece in Cheltenham. EPA

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  The Twin Towers in Tribeca appeared in New York in 2013. EPA

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  A mural by Banksy in Queens, New York. EPA

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  Three years after Hurricane Katrina wrought havoc in the Gulf of Mexico, Banksy created some commemorative pieces in New Orleans, Louisiana. EPA

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  Another mural by Banksy in New Orleans. EPA

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  A Banksy in London, May 2008. EPA

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  A piece to mark Queen Elizabeth II's golden jubilee appeared on Clink Street, near London Bridge, in May 2002. EPA