A mural depicting a hula-hooping girl that appeared outside a Nottingham beauty salon earlier this week has been claimed by Banksy. Taking to Instagram today to confirm the rumours, the world-famous graffiti artist says his next job “could be in bicycle repair”, noting the bike with its back wheel missing in front of the artwork. 

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A post shared by Banksy (@banksy) on

The artwork, outside Avi Hair & Beauty Salon in Rothesday Avenue, Nottingham, is thought to have gone up on Tuesday. The caption on Bansky’s Instagram post above references the widely ridiculed ‘Rethink. Reskill. Reboot’  Government poster featuring a ballerina named Fatima, suggesting she could retrain in ‘cyber’. The campaign was the subject of countless memes and spoofs online, and was described as “crass” by Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden, who claims it didn’t come from his department.  

The battered hybrid bike is a crucial element of the mural behind it, as the girl appears to be using its missing tyre as a hula-hoop. Some have suggested the bike needs to be protected too as part of the artwork; which might need to be done sooner rather than later, as the saddle has already been stolen. 

In an ironic twist, a screen put over the mural to protect it was also covered with graffiti just hours later.