Nottingham residents feel they have lost something that brought them happiness and pride

On October 13, 2020, a graffiti of a girl playing “hula-hoop” with a bicycle tire appeared on the brick wall of a beauty salon in the city of Nottingham, England. In the midst of a wave of Covid-19 infections within the community, the small graffiti caused much excitement among the city's residents, excited to know that their city had been considered by the famous anonymous artist Banksy, who recognized the work as his own on his social networks.

However, happiness was cut short when 4 months later, on February 17, the community discovered that their small artistic treasure had been cut up, removed and sold during the early hours of the morning, and in its place was a piece of cardboard hiding the hole where the graffiti used to be.

The owner of the building had decided to sell the work to an art dealer.

The BBC conducted a series of interviews with Nottingham residents to find out their opinion on the sale of the graffiti, of which a significant majority expressed their disappointment and annoyance at the sale:

“It is totally despicable; It was art meant for the people of Nottingham. It was not intended to be in a gallery, it was intended to be on the street, it should have remained there (...) It is capitalism in all its forms,” said Laura Rodgers, a 63-year-old resident.

“This (work) had been unusually good news in recent months and it has been taken from us in the middle of the night (…) It is like an opposite version of Robin Hood, it is stolen from the poor to be given to the rich” commented Nigel King, a 55-year-old resident.

“My father used to work at the nearby Raleigh (a bicycle brand) factory. Seeing the work near his workplace made me feel proud of him (…) I think that, if people had known that they would take it, we would have done something about it” commented Rosa Kirlew, who grew up in the area.

The buyer

John Brandler, buyer of the work and art dealer, stated that he paid the building's owner (who has remained anonymous) a 6-figure sum for the work, and has since received a series of emails from Nottingham residents showing their contempt for the purchase.

“I am preserving it (the graffiti) and restoring it myself, how many of the complaining people were willing to put money out of their pockets?” Brandler responded in an interview with the BBC, pointing out that the city of Nottingham had the opportunity to acquire the work, but did not do so.

This is not the first time John Brandler has acquired Banksy graffiti. In 2019, the Welsh owner of a garage with graffiti of a child spreading his arms by a campfire sold the work to Brandler after being overwhelmed by the number of visitors he received and the enormous responsibility he had to protect it.

The nature of urban art

Banksy's graffiti, like many other forms of urban art and art that is displayed on public places, are subject to multiple factors that are impossible to control. In this particular case, the work has been removed for “private” enjoyment, which goes against its nature of being art created for the public street and which is tied to the context of the community where it was placed; In this case, the graffiti is placed near the Raleigh factory, a bicycle factory, while the character in the work uses a bicycle tire to play hula-hoop. The location that the artist gave it was not random and responds to the history of the neighborhood where it was located.

But this might not be the worst fate the work could met. Many Banksy pieces have been vandalized, stolen or even accidentally erased, such as the case of one of his mice that were painted in July 2020 on the London Underground, and which was innocently erased by a maintenance worker.

Nottingham university student Kyle MacLean, who was disappointed to lose the work, had a broader perspective on events:

“The ephemeral nature of Banksy's work is what makes it exciting (…) There is a permanent risk with his work. His works can be lost; They’re not going to be there forever.”

A few days after the removal of the work from Nottingham, once a collection of signatures had been raised to bring the work back, a phrase appeared painted on the cardboard that replaced the work:

“More people visited the Mona Lisa after it was stolen than when it was here. Banksy”