A new Banksy artwork that was partly dismantled just hours after appearing in Margate has been restored after being “made safe” by the local council. .
The mural, titled Valentine's Day Mascara, was unveiled by the anonymous graffiti artist in an Instagram post on Tuesday morning. Painted on the side of a building in the seaside town, the work shows a 1950s-style housewife, “complete with kitchen apron and Marigolds”, apparently shoving a man into a real-life chest freezer that was placed beside the wall, Kent Online reported.
The woman has a swollen eye and a missing tooth, suggesting that the “Bristol-born artist is referencing violence against women on Valentine's Day”, said Sky News.
But while fans and campaigners applauded Banksy for highlighting the issue, the freezer was swiftly removed by Thanet District Council contractors. After returning the chest yesterday following a public outcry, a council spokesperson said it had been “necessary to carry out works to the freezer for health and safety reasons”.
North Thanet MP Roger Gale told the PA news agency that the council’s decision to dismantle the artwork was “heavy-handed”, but added: “If you’ve got something as potentially dangerous as a chest freezer into which a child could climb and suffocate, you actually can’t responsibly just leave it.”
Banksy has won global fame over the past couple of decades through street art that highlights “corruption and inequality in society with a smattering of humour”, said The Sun. Yet the identity of the British artist “still remains one of the greatest mysteries of the 21st century”.
As speculation continues, here is the Margate mural and nine other iconic Banksy works.
Girl with Balloon
Girl with Balloon features a written message, “There is always hope”, and first appeared on a wall in London’s Southbank in 2002. Since then, the design has appeared in a series of stencil murals. Prints of the iconic image have sold for many thousands of pounds, with an auction stunt featuring one such work making headlines worldwide...
Love is in the Bin
One of the most sought-after Girl with Balloon prints was shredded by its own frame moments after being sold at auction for more than £1m in 2018. After Banksy admitted having installed the hidden shredding device, Sotheby’s said it was the “first artwork in history to have been created live during an auction”. The piece resold in 2021 for £18.5m.
Kissing Coppers
The Kissing Coppers stencil graffiti appeared in 2004 on the wall of a Brighton pub and shows two male police officers kissing. After being targeted by vandals, the painting was removed by specialists and replaced with a replica in 2011. Three years later, the original was sold at auction in the US for $575,000 (£345,000).
Dismaland
Perhaps Banksy’s most elaborate project, the Dismaland pop-up exhibition appeared in Weston-super-Mare in August 2015 and attracted more than 150,000 visitors over 36 days. Described as “a sinister twist on Disneyland”, the project featured works by dozens of artists selected by Banksy, who also created ten new pieces for the exhibition.
Sweep it Under the Carpet
Another London stencil graffiti, Sweep it Under the Carpet appeared on a wall in Chalk Farm Road in 2006. Depicting a maid emptying a dustpan under a white rug covering the red brick, the mural is believed to represent the reluctance of the Western world to deal with global issues such as poverty.
Flower Thrower
Flower Thrower, also known as Love is in the Air, is one of Banksy’s most repeated works. The original was painted in Beit Sahour in the West Bank in 2003, shortly after the construction of the Wall that that separates Palestine from Israel. Depicting a masked man throwing a bouquet of flowers, the stencil is interpreted as an appeal for peace to replace violence.
Show me the Monet
A pastiche of Claude Monet’s Water Lilies, this rare oil painting by Banksy depicts the river strewn with rubbish including a shopping trolley and a traffic cone. The 2005 work is believed to be a critique of capitalism and consumerism but proved to be a big money-spinner in 2020, selling for £7.5m at auction.
Slave Labour
The Slave Labour mural appeared on the side of a Poundland store in Wood Green, north London, in May 2012, during the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee. The image depicts a child with a sewing machine constructing Union Flag bunting, and like Valentine’s Day Mascara, features a real-life object (in this case, the bunting).
