LONDON — Street artist Banksy confirmed via Instagram that a sculpture depicting a man blinded by a billowing flag, installed on a plinth in Waterloo Place in central London, is his work. The statue was erected in the dead of night and first spotted on Wednesday.

The sculpture shows a man marching off a plinth while carrying a large, billowing flag that obscures his face. The base of the plinth is signed "Banksy." The piece is situated in the St James's area of Westminster, near statues of Edward VII and Florence Nightingale and the Crimean War Memorial.

A video posted by Banksy shows the statue being towed to Westminster in the dead of night alongside shots of a nearby statue of Winston Churchill. The footage juxtaposes the sculpture with British flags, a Beefeater soldier and a black cab. At one point in the video, a man is heard saying, "No, I don't like it."

It is unclear whether Banksy received official permission for the installation. A representative for the mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, said Banksy "has a great ability to inspire people from a range of backgrounds to enjoy modern art" and that the mayor hopes the piece can be preserved for Londoners and visitors to enjoy. Westminster City Council said it has no plans to remove the piece, has taken initial steps to protect the statue, and that it will remain accessible for the public to view and enjoy.

Banksy first created spray-paint graffiti on buildings in his hometown of Bristol in the early 1990s and has never publicly revealed his identity. He is part of a tradition of street artists who view the undercover act of posting art in public as a subversive form of expression. His paintings and installations have sold for millions of dollars at auction, and his street art is often targeted by thieves and vandals.

In 2004, Banksy installed a statue named The Drinker on Shaftesbury Avenue in London's West End, a take on Rodin's The Thinker, which was removed shortly after being erected. In September, outside the Royal Courts of Justice, he created a mural of a judge using a gavel to beat a protester. The mural was removed after its creation, and the court service said it was legally obliged to maintain the character of the building because of its listed status. In December, Banksy said he was behind a mural showing two children lying down and looking at the sky, which appeared to be a statement on homelessness as the children seemed to be pointing at the Centre Point Tower.