Bristol graffiti artist fined
A prolific graffiti artist from Bedminster who caused thousands of pounds worth of damage has been fined and given a community order.
Police arrested Lewey Spencer in January following a detailed investigation into another prolific "tagger".
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Lewey Spencer leaving Bristol Magistrates' Court
On a computer, they found pictures and video of Spencer, 25, from Stanley Street South, spraying his tag "AMES" onto railway property, signs, streets and derelict buildings.
"Trophy photographs" showed Spencer posing next to his work, and a video showed him spraying paint onto a moving train and breaking into a train depot.
Bristol Magistrates' Court heard yesterday that Spencer caused £1,660 of damage to a train belonging to First Great Western when he broke into the Laira depot in Plymouth on the evening of September 29, 2007.
He pleaded guilty to causing criminal damage to the parapets of a footbridge at Sheene Way, Bedminster, belonging to Network Rail and asked for 32 similar offences to be taken into account.
Spencer lives with his parents and was arrested there on December 23 last year.
In the house, police found numerous tins of spray paint, marker pens, latex gloves and paint-splattered clothes.
His solicitor Mark Andrews told the court Spencer had always had an interest in art, and began spraying graffiti on legal walls before "finding himself associated with people who have gone beyond that".
Mr Andrews said: "He found himself slipping to the other side of the line, to be part of a sub-culture.
"This was a preoccupation and an obsession. He was thinking about it all the time, and it dominated his life for a significant period of time."
The court was told that Spencer, who works for a builders merchants, continues to be a graffiti artist, but now only paints on legal walls and also in a studio he rents in St Paul's.
"He has made a positive decision to distance himself from the illegal graffiti world, but he remains on the legal side of things," Mr Andrews said.
"He no longer does this work illegally. He has made a definite decision to turn himself away from it."
Magistrates ordered Spencer to carry out 80 hours of unpaid work, and said they hoped that this would involve cleaning illegal graffiti.
He was also ordered to pay £1,390 in fines and costs.
25 Comments
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by JD, Bristol
Tuesday, June 16 2009, 8:06PM
“Clearly some of you don't know this guy or his work; the paper has only shown his tags and none of his artwork.
He may never be a ¿BANKSY¿ but whether you think that the tags are vandalism, criminal, thuggish, juvenile, stupid or just plain crap they have certainly got you all talking, maybe that was the intention. Wonder if that was ¿BANKSY¿S¿ intention. Wonder if you said the same about him all those years ago?
How easy it is to praise and condone and hop on the bandwagon when everything is going good
¿BANKSY THIS AND BANKSY THAT¿ He started of the same, the only difference is its one rule for him and one rule for the others (there's some great artists out there) If only you could open your eyes and minds. If I had to choose for my kids to wielding a fist, a knife, a gun or a SPRAY CAN I know what I would choose? I think our justice system need to get things into prospective and which is more ugly the colour from street art or the colour from the scar on the WPC face caused by Mr Thomas who was in court the same day, he received the same community service and got a considerably smaller fine than Mr Spencer. Who is the criminal? Was that justice? you decide!”
by steve, st george
Tuesday, June 16 2009, 7:06PM
“this grafitti artist is the same kind of vandal as banksy, so why when the council put this rubbish in the museum did they not get banksy the vandal arrested.”
by Krusher, spillem,, St ¿nnz,
Tuesday, June 16 2009, 4:59PM
“WHAT A LOAD OF HOURSE SH**, A TEN YEAR OLD CAN TAG BETTER THAN THAT!!!”
by rob, Bristol
Tuesday, June 16 2009, 4:52PM
“Another of life's wasters. Should be 15 years in prison to deter other sad puerile little offenders”
by soarer, bristol
Tuesday, June 16 2009, 3:40PM
“another little Mike anecdote. You must have a photographic memory to remember mere tags of someone totally unfamous at the time from 12-18 years ago!!! Jackanory Mike and his 1001 tall stories. You love a whinge about banksy just as much as you do about ethnic minorities and council estate people! Is it because he is rich, famous, skilled and succesful with an admiring fan base whilst you have none of these atributes- just hate and moaning!?
anyway this little twerp- relation Mike? - is hardly in Banksy. Its just a simple tag for graffiti sake. Not an artist. He is 25 and still lives with mummy. How street! Should have thrown the book at the nasty little vandal”
by JoJo, Bristol
Tuesday, June 16 2009, 3:26PM
“Here, here Suzy!
Us Bristolians always have something pointless to moan about, whether its Banksy, Cabot Circus, World Cup Venues, never having anything nice. . . for goodness sake, everyone else wants Banksy to be theirs, but he's ours!”
by George, Bristol
Tuesday, June 16 2009, 2:25PM
“It's too shoddy to be an authentic Banksy. I
remember, actually, the Evening Post's outrage at the £20,000 of tax payer's money it would cost to paint over it!”
by Mike, Bristol
Tuesday, June 16 2009, 1:47PM
“@George... How do we know it's not an authentic Banksy?
The distinctive 'BANKSY' tags where quite a common site around the Lawrence Hill, Eastville and Easton areas in the early to mid 90s. The very same distinctive 'BANKSY' tag is even in the mast-head on the front page of this web site.
A local radio station gave it news coverage a while back, when it got painted over with another tag saying 'WRONG'(which is still there).”
by Mike, Bristol
Tuesday, June 16 2009, 1:43PM
“@George... How do we know it's not an authentic Banksy?
The distinctive 'BANKSY' tags where quite a common site around the Lawrence Hill, Eastville and Easton areas in the early to mid 90s. The very same distinctive 'BANKSY' tag is even in the mast-head on the front page of this web site.
BBC Radio Bristol gave it news coverage a while back, when it got painted over with another tag saying 'WRONG'(which is still there).”
by Jonathan, Montreal, QC
Tuesday, June 16 2009, 1:29PM
“George, the legal vandalism you talk about is nothing new, nor is it limited to Bristol. I can assure you that it's done in a far more tasteful way in Bristol than it is in USA or Canada.
I realise that this doesn't make it right, but why just whinge on a newspaper's comment boards? Maybe, if you're so passionate about it, you could lobby the council or government to get the advertising hoardings eradicated? You may even be able to get your own column in the BEP!!! (but you'd probably think that was selling your soul...)
This isn't the first time i've heard the same thing from you, why not do something about it???
Your point of view about graffiti being art is just that, your point of view, the same as your point about tagging. Some may think it's art, whilst you don't. It's very subjective, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Some people may even find advertising hoardings beautiful!
The difference is that graffiti is put onto walls that are owned by others without permission.
Doesn't matter is it's Banksy or this chap, it shouldn't be there unless the owner of the wall has given permission.”