Extinction symbol

[16] In 2019, in an email interview with Ecohustler, ESP said the following on its creation: "At the start of 2011, I was just randomly sketching designs and as soon as I drew the symbol, I knew what it was".

[18] ESP said that while stylized, it was important it could be easily interpreted, saying: "I started off by chalking it really large on a wall down Brick Lane and some guys standing across the street were joking around, asking me if I thought I was Banksy or something.

[2] The symbol came to prominence when it came to be used by environmental action group Extinction Rebellion (XR) in protests around the world from 2018 onwards.

[2][5] Extinction Gong was an art installation by Crystelle Vu and Julian Oliver that features the symbol as a centerpiece; it was part of the 2018 Disappearing Legacies: The World as Forest exhibition in Berlin.

[31] In April 2019, a piece attributed to artist Banksy at Marble Arch in London, featured a child holding the extinction symbol.

[29][5] In July 2019, the Victoria and Albert Museum acquired a number of artifacts displaying the symbol as part of its permanent collection saying: "From its adoption (with permission) of the highly recognisable extinction symbol first designed in 2011 by the London street artist ESP to its limited but “punchy” colour palette and carefully worded slogans, she said the group had used design to galvanise concern for the climate emergency".