The street artist Banksy was recently in my local area* – he left a picture of a child making Tesco sandcastles**. Needless to say, I went down to get some photographs. The local council stopped it from being removed by the anti-graffiti team and covered it in a clear protective screen. Other graffiti appeared around it, including some from the feud between Bansky and King Robbo.
The Tesco in St. Leonards is really big. Not compared to space, but compared to supermarket sizes. The store is some ways inland from the coast.
The Banksy itself
Detail of the child
The Banksy with the beach in the background
A crowd gathers
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* The location is St. Leonards-on-Sea, East Sussex, England. If you’re in the area, here’s how you get there: starting at the Hastings / London Road side of St. Leonards, walk down the seafront past the Marina (the large building shaped like a boat).
The Banksy is on the side of one of the steps leading to the beach. It faces away from the direction you’re walking.
** Banksy has confirmed it’s one of his.
That was cool graffiti. I like the detail in the picture of the child.
sylvia, I have a middle-road view on graffiting over graffiti. I think when a piece has been there awhile, it's fine. I've seen some fun reworkings of graffiti pieces. It's an ongoing conversation in a way.
However, I think new work should be left a little while for people to see.
I've heard the Banksy has been destroyed now. I'll try to get a followup picture at some point, to show how it's changed.
What a bizarre turn of events for Banksy. And I feel somehow aggrieved that someone might deface the defacement! I like graffiti but now I'm realising I have some odd views of what is "worthwhile" – a sort of is it art complex. Bah.
Whirlochre, To be fair to them, that's a different league of cost. The repairs the pier needs cost more than the council have to spend. A plastic sheet is cheap.
Always a nice change of pace when the suits aren't the "evil meanies" for once
Such a shame the council aren't showing a similar interest in protecting Hastings pier…
That's so cool! I'm glad the council acted so quickly and so sensibly too.
It is a little unusual. Even in graffiti parks, they don't usually cover any of it to protect it. I'm glad they did though, as I wouldn't have gotten a chance to see if it they hadn't protected it.
Interesting. Protecting graffiti from other graffiti.