A street artist was detained after painting a mural of viral baby monkey Punch on a protected wall at a Polish zoo.
The incident unfolded at the historic Old Zoo in Poznan, a listed historic site in Poland. According to Polish news outlet Interia Zielona, the artist was stopped by police while working on the Punch mural and later released after questioning.
Police took the 28-year-old in for questioning because the building is listed as a historic monument, but no charges were ultimately filed. Now, in an unexpected twist, the zoo is reportedly considering preserving the artwork instead of removing it.
Punch artwork lands street artist in trouble
Despite the initial detention, Interia Zielona reports that zoo representatives acknowledged Punch’s popularity and indicated they would like to preserve the artwork if possible, potentially relocating it onto zoo grounds rather than removing it entirely.
The artist, who goes by the name Kawu, has uploaded images and a time-lapse of their Punch-inspired artwork on Instagram, where it has received a lot of praise from fans. As shown in the video below, the picture was created using spray paint and shows Punch snuggling his iconic IKEA monkey plushie.
Ever since Ichikawa Zoo released images of Punch holding his monkey plushie, fans have flocked to see him, while many overseas fans have been keeping up with the updates provided by the zoo’s staff.
Heartwarming footage surrounding the baby macaque continues to spread across social media, so it was only a matter of time before his story inspired creators from around the world.
For now, the artist faces no charges, and discussions around the mural’s future are ongoing.
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