Locals Lament Loss Of Graffiti

We are pleased to announce that the world has officially gone mad: local residents in Stoke Newington are upset that graffiti has been painted over in what they call an act of vandalism. But then again, we’re talking about an original, vintage, 8 year old Banksy that is a much loved stencil artwork on the side of a block of flats that confronts anyone who walks down Church Street. And from the extensive archive of articles we have written on Banksy, we shouldn’t be surprised that the usual definitions of vandalism and art don’t really apply in this case.

Hackney council maintains that the stencil showing a spoof Royal Family is graffiti and needs to be eradicated. Locals argue that is art that attracts hundreds of visitors, cheers them up and is undeniably more interesting than the flat black that now covers the wall. While Stoke Newington mourns the loss of its Banksy, the artwork / act of vandalism on Essex Road has been refreshed and covered with protective Perspex to preserve it. One council’s public art heaven is another council’s public nuisance hell and yet more fuel is heaped on the ‘but is it art?' debate.