We figured out what those mysterious black animal statues that appeared in the City of London are
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Statues that appear to depict bankers as black rats in the City of London are actually statues of cats.
The installation is Laura Ford's Days of Judgment and it's part of the City of London's Sculpture in the City event.
The Guardian said the statues, with their "heads down and locked in introspective grief, recall the agony of Masaccio's Adam and Eve expelled from paradise." They were exhibited in Brighton last month.
Damien Hirst and Ai Wei Wei also have artworks on display as part of the exhibition.
There wasn't a placard from the artist claiming credit, or title, when we first saw them yesterday. Just a sign saying "Please do not climb."
They're right in the middle of a cluster of bank offices and branches on Bishopsgate, outside the Deutsche Bank office and across from branches of HSBC and Lloyds - and a two minute walk from the Bank of England.
It's not uncommon for Londoners to create insulting art or vandalism about bankers and "City boys." So some people - Business Insider included - thought the statues might be some sort of protest, likening bankers to rodents. Not so! (We've contacted the artist for comment, too.)
Here's another look at them.
There are two of them on a low platform:
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This one is distressed. Maybe because it's wearing a jumper and is feeling underdressed in the City.
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The other one is wearing a jacket and has its hands behind its back. An allusion to handcuffs?:
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