(Margate) The artwork will have been even more ephemeral than Valentine’s Day: Banksy unveiled a domestic violence-themed mural in south-east England on Tuesday that was quickly compromised by eager cleaners.
Posted at 9:15am
William EDWARDS with Marie HEUCLIN in London’s Agence France press
In this mural by the mysterious street artist in the seaside resort of Margate, a housewife with a 1950s or 1960s look was seen, disfigured by a black eye and a broken tooth, while a man’s legs, taken from an old, real, freezer leaned against the wall.
Scattered objects lay on the floor around them, such as an old frying pan, a broken chair, or an old bottle.
The work, titled “Valentine’s day mascara,” was claimed by the artist on his Instagram account on February 14, a day considered a celebration of lovers in many countries.
Amanda Barden said she found the work “amazing”: “It’s a real issue for people to talk about domestic violence. The reference to Valentine’s Day also occupies people, it opens the dialogue.
But at midday, men posing as agents for Thanet District Council, which administers the town, removed the old freezer and other items, making it difficult to understand the artwork’s message about domestic violence.
When asked by AFP, the municipality said the device had been “removed for security reasons because it was in public space.”
“The freezer has been cleared away and will be returned once secured. We will contact the owner (of the wall, ed.) to discuss options for preserving the artwork,” she explained.
PHOTO WILLIAM EDWARDS, FRANCE PRESS AGENCY
At midday, men posing as agents of the Thanet District Council, which governs the town, removed the old freezer and other items, making the artwork’s message about spousal violence difficult to understand.
Intentional action?
The images showing the removal of these objects sparked outrage on social media, while passers-by at the scene expressed their astonishment and incomprehension.
“People were like, ‘Stop it, you know that’s a Banksy, right? says Laura Holden, a Margate resident who attended the scene. She wonders if this intervention by city services was premeditated: “Maybe Banksy had it all planned from the start.”
In 2018, the artist from Bristol in south-west England caused a worldwide sensation when he deliberately caused the disappearance of a work: his painting “La Fille au Ballon” was hidden in the frame during the auction, thanks to a mill partially self-destructed.
Banksy intended this performance to denounce the “commodification” of art. Resold under the new name “Love is in the bin”, it eventually sold for €18.6 million, a record for the artist.
Three years ago, the mysterious artist, who works under a pseudonym, had already painted a work for Valentine’s Day: a little girl shooting a bouquet of red flowers with a catapult.
Banksy has been supporting Ukrainians since the Russian invasion of Ukraine began. In January, he offered 50 screen prints for sale to raise funds for the benefit of civilians.
And he had posted a video on his Instagram account in mid-November compiling his stenciled works around the country, including one depicting a person wearing a gas mask in Gostomel, thereby confirming that he was the author .