Banksy Visits St. Leonards-on-Sea

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

Banksy art: A child making Tesco sandcastles

Detail of the child

Banksy: Detail of the child

The Banksy with the beach in the background

Banksy with shingle beach in background

A crowd gathers

A crowd looking at the Banksy

* 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.

9 thoughts on “Banksy Visits St. Leonards-on-Sea”

  1. 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.

  2. 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.

  3. 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.

  4. 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.

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