Whitewash as Banksy 'erased'
A BANKSY mural on a former social club in Eastville has been painted over.
The Gorilla in a Pink Mask mural, depicting an ape with a pink eye mask over its face, has been a familiar sight on Fishponds Road for more than 10 years.
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Banksy 'erased'
But the stencil was whitewashed over when the building was turned into a Muslim cultural centre. It could prove to be an expensive mistake – an 8ft mural on a hotel in Torquay is claimed to have raised the value of the building by £150,000.
Saeed Ahmed, owner of the cultural centre, said he had never heard of the famous artist and painted over the gorilla because he thought it was a regular piece of graffiti.
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Mr Ahmed said: "I thought it was worthless. I didn't it know it was valuable. That's why I painted over it. I really am sorry if people are upset."
A paintings conservator, Richard Pelter of Park Street-based International Fine Art Conservation Studios, was last night attempting to remove the whitewash using large cotton buds and sensitive cleaning materials.
Neighbour Dean Meadows said: "It's a shame. It's currently being shared around the world on Twitter, so hopefully Banksy will hear and replace it himself."
Comments
by Irritable9
Saturday, July 16 2011, 9:24AM
“I love what Banksy does but I'm sure he won't be bothered by the white-wash. I think he's much more interested in what's happening now. As for the fans they have plenty of pictures to look at. A register isn't a bad idea (if just to know what is what) but let's not get too precious about things.”
by Bristol1978
Saturday, July 16 2011, 1:19AM
“"Some people want to make the world a better place. I just wanna make the world a better-looking place. If you don't like it, you can paint over it! - Banksy"”
by manchestergas
Friday, July 15 2011, 9:37PM
“10 years old?? No. It was done in mid June 2007. As usual the BEP are merely taking a 'fact' from a blog post and reprinting it on their website withoiut even checking their facts.”
by NTSocialTroll
Friday, July 15 2011, 9:24PM
“They wish to also build a Muslim Cultural Center in the close proximity to the twin towers and have yet to start rebuilding the modest Greek orthodox church that was damaged and condemned during the attacks.
Guess which of the two Muslim cultural centers offends Bristolians more. The one which white washes a Banksy piece or the one which gets Government aid in New York to cover up the nature and decorum of the people who were committed to para militarist terrorism.”
by NTSocialTroll
Friday, July 15 2011, 7:16PM
“http://tinyurl.com/5mu7lo”
by whooshbang
Friday, July 15 2011, 6:42PM
“agree polyphase.... as if some is gonna pay 150k over the top for a property just cus there's a bit of graf on it.... utter rollocks!
i think they done the building a favour!”
by brizzlekiddy
Friday, July 15 2011, 5:57PM
“What concerns me most is not the covered Banksy, but the issue of yet another "Cultural Centre" that has been foisted on Bristol. No doubt this facility will recieve local government financial backing!!!!”
by brizzlekiddy
Friday, July 15 2011, 5:54PM
“Why aren't these murals protected by a perspex cover etc? What annoys me more is we have another "Cultural Centre" foisted on us!!!”
by polyphase
Friday, July 15 2011, 5:51PM
“"an 8ft mural on a hotel in Torquay is claimed to have raised the value of the building by £150,000." - Obviously this is not always the case. Otherwise this building would have been sold at a premium price and the new owner would have been aware of and preserved the "artwork". Still, it was a load of old rubbish anyway, so never mind.”
by NTSocialTroll
Friday, July 15 2011, 5:47PM
“By the way, what exactly is a Muslim Cultural Center?”