Banksy hero

A new Banksy artwork appeared recently in Hull – which is appropriate given that it’s currently UK City of Culture. It was stencilled on a bridge in the river which is kept permanently raised, and included a small boy wielding a giant pencil and the message ‘drawing the raised bridge’. Typical Banksy mischief, and a wonderful play on words which really made me smile.

Sadly, not everyone appreciated it. One local councillor demanded that it was ‘destroyed’ (he obviously has no idea how valuable Banksy art can be…), and shortly after that, it was completely painted over with a coat of thick white paint.

Whether those two facts are connected or not I have no idea. But one local chap saw not white but red, and rushed out to help restore the artwork to its former glory. Even better, he’s a window cleaner, so could throw in all the ladders, buckets, cloths and whatever else might be needed to scrub paint off yet more paint. In the end, plain water didn’t work and he had to resort to chemicals, and the underlying mural suffered slightly as a result. Still, as he himself said, better a faded Banksy than no Banksy at all – and now the local council have offered to protect the whole thing with a sheet of Perspex, which is good news all round.

You can read more about the story – and the Banksy hero – in the Guardian’s report here.