A mural painted by street artist Banksy on a residential building in north London has been defaced.
The artwork appeared over the weekend in Finsbury Park featuring swathes of green paint on a wall behind a nearby tree, to give the appearance of leaves, with a stencil of a person next to it. But on Wednesday morning, local resident Matt McKenna, 35, saw white paint had been strewn over the wall.
Islington Council has been approached for comment.
Tall metal fencing has also been installed around the tree and wall. On Monday, Banksy claimed the mural as his own following speculation after it appeared on a building on Hornsey Road.
‘Real shame'
Streams of people travelled to see the artwork, but Mr McKenna told BBC London he saw the mural had been defaced while he was out walking his dog.
“It is a real shame. It happened overnight,” he said. “When it appeared on Sunday my partner saw it and said she quite liked it before everyone was talking about it.
“Then the rumour mill started that it was likely to be a Banksy, then he posted it was a Banksy on Instagram.
“It has got lots of people talking and it is a bit of London which is a bit forgotten at times.”
As with many of Banksy's works, the latest piece caused a debate and range of opinions, including from some conservation campaigners who say the tree was pruned back, or pollarded, too much. Previously, before the white paint appeared, Islington Council said its graffiti removal team was aware of the artwork and would not remove it.
The local authority explained the cherry tree chosen by Banksy was 40-50 years old and in declining health, with decay and fungi damage. The council added it would continue to work to try and keep the tree alive and that it should re-bud across its crown.
The boss of the firm responsible for pruning the tree back to its current shape on behalf of the council said his team had used an “ancient form of pruning”, known as pollarding, where the upper parts of the tree were removed.
Lawrence-Thor Stephen, who runs Thor's Trees, explained the practice limited the tree's growth and stopped weak branches from falling off. He said it was a “really good way of increasing the lifespan of the tree” and that he hoped it would “burst with growth in the spring”.
— CutC by bbc.com
