Dave Simpson: The Guardian
After a Banksy mural appeared on his Port Talbot garage last month, Ian Lewis found himself facing a “very, very stressful” battle to protect the artwork from thieves and vandals. Here, four people share their own, very different experiences of being “Banskied”.
“People went, ‘We love the house, but we’re not buying it with that graffiti on it’”
Clik! Clack! Booom, Cato Street, Bristol (2003)
David Anslow, property owner: I had a house in Easton, Bristol – where Banksy used to hang out – which I was renting out to students. One day, one of the students phoned up to ask if his “graffiti artist friend” could do some artwork on the side. I thought it would be pretty cool but didn’t think much more about it. Years later, a friend of ours suddenly said, “Did you know you’ve got a Banksy on your house?” He showed me Banksy’s book, Wall and Piece, and there was our house, with a 32-foot mural on it, the full width of the building. It reminded me of Picasso’s Guernica. …Read More
Pictured: Stressfull… Ian Lewis admires his unsolicited Banksy in Port Talbot Photograph: Adam Hale/PA