Banksy artwork on side of London building covered up with wooden boards
A recent Banksy painting which appeared on the side of a block of flats in Islington has been covered by hoardings after it was vandalised within hours of being unveiled.
The mural features green paint daubed on the side of a residential building behind a dead tree in Finsbury Park, giving it the appearance of having leaves.
It first appeared on March 18, and was confirmed to be the work of the anonymous street artist and he shared a picture of it on social media.
But shortly after its unveiling the mural attracted a slew of vandals, who threw white paint over the installation in an attempt to ruin it.
In response, the council has cordoned off the mural from public access and installed a CCTV camera to monitor it.
The authority added it wanted the piece ‘to stay,’ and that the council were discussing ‘future solutions’ with the property owner ‘to enable everyone to enjoy the artwork’.
But locals are unhappy over what they perceive as the council prioritising the artwork more than their own quality of life.
Residents of the adjacent block of flats had allegedly asked the council for extra security on numerous occasions due to safety concerns, which the council reportedly denied due to a lack of funds.
Concerns centre around one supposed troublemaker tenant, whose alleged drug use has brought drug deals, prostitution and violence to the neighbourhood’s doorstep.
In a letter to residents from the desk of Ian Swift, the council’s Director of Housing Operations and Deputy Corporate Director, the council said:
‘Due to the new Banksy art installation adjacent to Christie Court, we know you are experiencing increased numbers of visitors to your estate.
‘While the council welcomes public art, we also recognise that local people are experiencing some impacts from the numbers of people gathering nearby.
‘To reduce the effects of the visitors the council has installed additional fencing to keep people further away from your homes, installed signage to ask visitors to be respectful and we have installed a CCTV camera to monitor activity around the tree and artwork.
‘We are in contact with the building owner, who is the legal owner of the artwork and will keep you informed of any security measure that the owner puts in place.
‘We believe that the visitor numbers will fall in the coming weeks as we all adjust to living with this new art installation.
‘Islington is already home to four Banksy artworks in different locations and these do not attract the number of visitors you are currently seeing.
‘We thank you for being supportive of Islington’s creativity, and for your understanding and patience as we work to manage issues relating to the many people who want to see the art installation.’
Mary Dickenson, who lives locally, told the BBC : ‘When it first went up it was nice. Someone did try to destroy it, and they’ve blocked everything off now, so you can’t really see anything.’
Meanwhile Banksy fan Güley Polat, who travelled from Germany to see the mural, said it was ‘sad’ to see the installation locked away behind plastic and wooden boards.
She told the broadcaster: ‘It’s very sad. What I see is a disaster. I don’t like it.
‘It seems like we are in prison. I think Banksy doesn’t want to have his street art in a prison.’
Following complaints from locals, an Islington Council spokesperson said: ‘We want everyone to feel safe at home and we take reports of anti-social behaviour seriously.
‘The new security measures at Christie Court have been installed in direct response to concerns raised by tenants over the last week about crowds gathering and the disruption this is causing to their lives.
‘We are committed to working with our communities to tackle anti-social behaviour. We encourage residents to report it to us and we welcome conversations to help us solve it.’
This is a developing news story, more to follow soon… Check back shortly for further updates.
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