A new mural with a striking resemblance to Banksy’s work that appeared overnight in Birmingham remains at the center of a mystery.

A spokesman for the famous street artist has confirmed that it is not Banksy’s work, but no one else has yet come forward to claim it is.

The painting appeared on Kent Street in the West Midlands city’s gay village on the night of April 3.It appears to depict Dorothy from the 1930s film The Wizard of Oz, based on L Frank Baum’s 1900 children’s fantasy novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.

The fictional character can be seen reaching for a pair of ruby ​​​​high heels, which are hung from a cable that stretches across the street.

A Birmingham art historian says the mural shows “all the hallmarks” of the mysterious artist Banksy, whose identity remains unknown.

“Banksy didn’t just stick to 2D art, he also played with real-life objects,” said Ruth Millington birmingham live.

“We can see the artwork interacting with the shoes on the telephone line, which is very clever. Interestingly, Banksy has used Dorothy in his artwork before and he liked to put her in interesting place.”

But a spokesman for Banksy later confirmed the work was not his, saying: “This is not a work by the artist Banksy.”

Banksy’s work has previously been exhibited in Birmingham. In 2019, the artist and activist created a powerful graffiti that highlighted homelessness in the city during the Christmas period.

On the wall, Banksy painted reindeer pulling a bench with a homeless man sleeping on it, an apparent reference to the holiday legend that Santa’s sleigh is powered by the reindeer species.

In videos posted to Banksy’s Instagram pageA homeless man named Ryan drinks a glass of wine and then sits on a bench with his belongings.

As the camera pans out, the reindeer can be seen seemingly carrying him away into a star-studded sky.

“God bless Birmingham,” Banks wrote in the post.

Banksy is one of the world’s most famous street artists, with his work appearing in cities across the globe, but his identity remains unknown.

Previously, a mural of trees that appeared in north London on March 17 was confirmed to be his.

The artwork, located on the side of a building in Hornsey Road, Finsbury Park, is painted in shades of green and depicts a man holding a pressure hose behind a felled tree.

Banksy often claims responsibility for his art through posts on his social media pages.

He uploaded a picture of the tree to his Instagram profile, showing it before green paint was applied to the wall.

The mural was fenced off by authorities after vandals threw paint on it.