Council paints over street artist Banksy's graffiti murals

By Jo Macfarlane and Sharon Feinstein [via mailonsunday.co.uk]

They are coveted pieces of modern art which fetch up to £1million in auction and are owned by Hollywood royalty.

But to one council, murals by the reclusive street artist Banksy appear to be little more than worthless graffiti.

For soon after Banksy’s latest work appeared on a North London street, conscientious workers from Islington Council have obliterated it, by whitewashing the offending wall.

The 4ft by 4ft stencil, set on a lime green background, depicted two young girls sitting at a desk with a Kalashnikov rifle, playing with bullets rather than pencils.

The elusive Banksy, with his face hidden, was spotted painting the scene towards the end of last month.

But the mural, which would have been worth hundreds of thousands of pounds, was promptly painted over with masonry paint, after residents complained.

A local trader watched the artwork take shape and chatted to the secretive artist, who jokingly denied he was Banksy and said he was there to create an ‘advertising promotion’.

A possible self-portrait of the elusive artist

The trader described the guerrilla painter, whose real identity has never been revealed, as ‘a very nice and pleasant chap’ in his 30s with a regional accent who was dressed in a green cotton army jacket and black jeans with closely-cropped mousy hair.

The trader, who did not want to be named, said Banksy told him he had painted the background colour on too thickly, and would have to wait until it dried before being able to use his stencils.

He said: ‘I saw Banksy literally watching paint dry! I told him it could be ruined soon, but he said as long as a few people saw it and enjoyed it, that was OK with him.

‘The final mural was beautiful. The council are idiots. Why don’t they concentrate on the real graffiti and leave street art for people to enjoy?’

A coveted piece of modern art: Art terrorist Banksy's paintings' are viewed by the council as graffiti

Last year, Islington Council compiled a list of works by Banksy in their area to prevent them being painted over by clean-up teams.

But one council spokesman now says: ‘It’s graffiti and we treat it that way, whether it’s Banksy or not. Residents in the houses opposite complained and we covered it up.’

Banksy’s work has been bought by stars such as Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt. At an auction in New York earlier this year, a piece sold for £950,000.

In an interview in The Mail on Sunday’s Live magazine today, Banksy talks about his recent artistic assault on an entire street near Waterloo Station in London. He said:

‘Graffiti doesn’t always spoil buildings. In fact, it’s the only way to improve a lot of them. In the space of a few hours with a couple of hundred cans of paint, I’m hoping we can transform a dark, forgotten filth pit into an oasis of beautiful art – in a dark, forgotten filth pit.’

I highly recommend Banksy's book 'Wall & Piece', buy it here.

More samples of his awesome artwork here: