Recently, in the seaside town of Herne Bay, England, a new mural by famous artist Banksy appeared outside an abandoned house. But the work, which could easily fetch a value in the millions of euros at auction, had a short-lived existence. The painted building was demolished.
Titled Morning is Broken, the mural showed the silhouette of a boy – next to a cat at a window – who opened “curtains” made of two sheets of metal folded roughly to approximate the actual shape of the curtains.
According to The Guardian, the work is confirmed in three photos posted on Wednesday on the anonymous street artist’s Instagram account. In one of them, the piece is shown in a vertical image of an abandoned property, painted white, already “peeled” over time and covered with ivy. In the second photo, the artist looks only at the boy’s painting, creating a close-up of the artwork. A third photo shows a bulldozer and a pile of brick rubble being placed on the ground while a worker looks on.
According to the British newspaper, the site has been earmarked for dozens of new homes and contractors have begun demolition work overlooking Banksy’s painting.
George Caudwell, one of those responsible for the work, confirmed to the KentOnline website: “We didn’t know it was a Banksy. I felt sorry for what it was. We are devastated,” he admitted.
Bank on the ground? But who took the photos Banksy posted on his social media? No one knows, because throughout his career the artist always jealously hid his true identity. However, according to the Daily Mail, by the time the mystery man appeared, a team of architects at the site were convinced it was the man.
On the man’s head is a coconut cap (a hard hat with a round crown and well-curved brim at the sides, worn by men at the end of the 19th century and popularized by Charlotte and Magritte). A long black coat and glasses that don’t reveal your appearance.
Sophia Akin, who witnessed his arrival at the site, told the Daily Mail that the man arrived around 9:30 a.m. – at which time three workers were continuing to demolish the house: “I went to ask the workers for more details about the work. At that time, a man in a long black coat, The bowler appeared with a hat and glasses. It looked very mysterious,” he said. According to Sofia Akin, when they saw him, the contractors said: “That’s Banksy! We saw him yesterday! I was here taking pictures of the mural. According to the British newspaper, the man had more than one on the floor. Turned up.
Despite speculation, his identity has not been confirmed. In particular, photos of the mystery man (the Daily Mail also shared a video of the man taking pictures, talking to workers and leaving the land) were shared with someone who claimed to know the famous artist. Therefore, the same publication expresses doubts that the person in the scene is Banksia.
After the demolition what remained of the painting has already been removed from the warehouse and efforts have been made to reconstruct the work.
John Brandler, a Banksy expert, said he would like to restore the piece and display it at the Dover Museum. “We can restore it. It won’t be a big disaster if we get the property right and solve the problem!”, he believes. “We are planning to hold a big exhibition in summer. I would like to display it in Dover Museum. The piece itself is amazing. I would love to have it in my collection!” He added that.
When the British newspaper questioned how much the destroyed art was worth, Brandler admitted he didn’t know, but “it depends on how much is recovered and how much the original is worth”.
This is Banksy’s fourth play created in Kent County. Another of his works was subsequently demolished a month later after appearing in Market Square. The mural, titled Rímel do Dia dos Namorados, has as its theme the fight against domestic violence and violence against women: a caricature of a housewife from the 50s, wearing a blue beanie and yellow dishwashing gloves, with bulging eyes, shows a missing caricature. One tooth, he shoves his companion into the freezer. The work will be moved to Dreamland, an amusement park in Margate, so it will be “accessible to all who want to see”.
Art as Resistance last month released stamps featuring a Banksy mural to mark one year since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The mural depicts a figure resembling Russian President Vladimir Putin with a child falling down during a judo match.
The original work was painted on a house destroyed by bombing in the town of Borodianka near Kiev. In the bottom left corner of the stamps was added a brief sentence referring to the Russian leader: “Down, Putin!”
Many Ukrainians see the artist’s mural as a symbol of Ukraine’s fierce resistance to the Russian invasion that began on February 24, 2022. Invaded country.
According to international media, long queues formed at the start of the sale in front of the main post office in Kyiv’s Holovboshdomat on Friday, February 24.
“It’s a good gesture for the world to understand Ukraine and to understand that we are in the spotlight,” Maxim, one of the buyers of the stamp, told AFP news agency, adding, “I’m happy to see the first stamp. Works by Banksy”.
Banksy has created works of art on buildings in several Ukrainian cities that have been severely damaged during the ongoing war.
According to The Art News Paper, Ajax Systems, an international security company founded in Ukraine, has installed high-tech systems to ensure 24-hour security of the artist’s four murals in the Kiev region, one of seven types created during the war.
The systems, which cost 12,000 euros, include anti-shock glass and alarms following the attempted theft of a mural depicting a woman with a gas mask in the Kiev suburb of Hostomel last December. ) technical aspects of security systems include built-in motion detectors and shock and vibration sensors, as well as transparent polycarbonate barriers.
An Ajax spokesman said in a statement on February 22, two days before the first anniversary of the Russian invasion, that the project was “developed at the initiative of the Kyiv regional military administration and local administration.” In turn, Oleh Torkunov, deputy head of the Kyiv Regional Military Administration, said, “Banksy’s works have cultural and historical value for the country, reminding us that light can overcome darkness.” “It is important to resist possible destructive attempts like the ones that have already happened,” he stressed.