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Sunday February 5, 2012

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Banksy Rat painted over

Posted by: 3AW Breakfast | 28 April, 2010 - 3:01 PM
ABOVE: Ross and John chatting with Andrew MacDonald, founder of the City Lights (laneway art) project, and owner of Until Never Gallery in Hosier Lane

THOMAS HUNTER FROM THEAGE.COM.AU

In a massive blow to fans of Melbourne's vibrant, CBD street-art scene, City of Melbourne workers have destroyed a little-known piece of stencil art left by world-renowned graffiti artist Banksy.

Local businesspeople were alerted to the mistake this morning, after the image of a parachute-wearing rat  floating down the wall of a building behind the Forum Theatre in Hosier Lane was painted over by council workers as part of a maintenance program.

"Our cleaning contractors were instructed to clean the wall as part of their regular street cleaning schedule," City Of Melbourne CEO Kathy Alexander said.
Banksy's parachuting rat, which has been mistakenly painted over in a Melbourne laneway by anti-graffiti workers.

Banksy's parachuting rat, which has been mistakenly painted over in a Melbourne laneway by anti-graffiti workers. Photo: Michael Clayton-Jones

"Acting under instructions to remove all graffiti and tagging from unapproved street art sites, our cleaning contractors last week cleaned Hosier Lane.

"There was no legal street art permit in place for the rat stencil believed to have been left by Banksy in Hosier Lane. There are currently five approved street art sites in Hosier Lane."

Ms Alexander said the piece was left in place despite being painted outside the authorised street art site because "we were aware it was believed to be Banksy's work.

"As the street art capital of Australia, we are aware of the popularity of Banksy's works and have made exceptions to preserve them in the past," she said.

Ms Alexander said "in hindsight" the council should have "acted sooner" to protect all known Banksy works.

The destruction of the stencil follows the loss of another Banksy work in 2008, when vandals tipped paint over a stencil near the corner of Flinders and Swanston streets, of an old-fashioned diver wearing a trenchcoat.

Banksy's works routinely sell for hundreds of thousands of dollars in galleries.

Breakfast with Ross and John

Ross and John Ross Stevenson and John Burns entertain listeners with their razor sharp wit and oddball humour every morning. And every day the best segments of their on-air - and sometimes off-air - program are published on 3AW.com.au.

Blog comments Your Say

  • Ratbags

    Caz Thursday 29 April, 2010 - 5:55 PM

  • Could not sell it so it has no transferable value. It was a copy of an overseas painting not an original.

    Sell what? Thursday 29 April, 2010 - 4:15 PM

  • I don't give a rat!

    Tom Thursday 29 April, 2010 - 10:10 AM

  • Its Graffiti, plain and simple.

    Good Riddance

    david R Wednesday 28 April, 2010 - 9:46 PM

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