Banksy's new sneezing woman mural appears in Bristol's Vale Street famous for steep roads

In the time and age when an erstwhile 'harmless' cold could prove to be a weapon of mass destruction, a Banksy woman in a headscarf was spotted sneezing on a wall in Bristol's Vale Street. The elusive graffiti artist's latest piece of work appeared on the side of a semi-detached house in the Totterdown suburb which is home to one of the steepest streets in the United Kingdom. 

The stencil spray work graffiti titled "Aachoo!!" was shared on Banksy's Instagram page, authenticating his identity, and is believed to have been revealed early Thursday morning. Needless to say, the artwork has attracted much attention since then.

Take a look at it here: 

Read: Banksy's London Underground Artwork Scrubbed Clean In Compliance To Anti-graffiti Policy

The Totterdown suburb is a new haunt for Banksy who is recognised for his iconic artworks across Bristol's urban grid. The spray-painted woman appears to be climbing the steep street as she drops her belongings under the force of the sneeze. Joey Syer, co-founder of MyArtBroker.com, told The Sun that the new Banksy artwork could be "worth £5million" (almost $6.64 million). As per reports, the house the artwork was spray-painted on was recently put up for sale. A local furniture maker told the BCC that he was going to put a piece of clear acrylic over the artwork to protect it.

Banksy's defaced artworks

Some of Banksy's recent artworks have been defaced by unknown vandals, his Valentine’s Day special piece featuring a young girl firing red flowers from a catapult being one. However, the artist said he was "kind of glad the piece in Barton Hill got vandalised" as he shared the initial sketches for the piece on social media. 

Read: Banksy Unveils His Latest 'rat-infested' Graffiti As He Works From Bathroom Amid Lockdown

In October, Banksy's hula-hooping girl artwork in Nottingham was thought to have been ransacked. The bicycle that completed the graffiti represented an important part of Nottingham's history and residents were worried that it had been stolen. However, the city council later clarified that the bike wasn't stolen but retained by the owners of the property, who replaced it with a new one.

Read: Banksy Salutes Superhero Healthcare Workers With An Earnest Gift To Southampton Hospital

Banksy's pandemic inspired artworks

During the global lockdown earlier this year, Banksy produced some pandemic inspired artworks capturing the pervasive mood and the shift in our social reality. The elusive artist surprised his fan with a rare glimpse into his home life in his 'work from home' graffiti. 

Banksy also dedicated a monochromatic piece to healthcare workers battling the pandemic on frontlines. The piece titled Game Changer was aptly dubbed 'Painting for Saints' as it showed a boy dressed in dungarees playing with a nurse superhero figurine.

Read: Read: Banksy Unveils New Coronavirus-related Artwork, First-ever Footage Featuring Himself

Read: Read: Banksy Unveils New Artwork Inspired By George Floyd’s Death, Speaks Out On Racism