Banksy’s down the Tube!
Cleaners scrub off street artist’s graffiti worth £7.5m
HE had shared a film of him spraying Covid- inspired images inside a London Underground carriage.
But unfortunately for street artist Banksy, the work did not impress cleaners on the Tube.
Although he had signed the piece, of rats sneezing, putting masks to unorthodox uses and carrying hand sanitiser, they assumed it was mindless graffiti and scrubbed it off – only to learn it was worth £7.5million.
Transport for London said it ‘ appreciated the sentiment of encouraging people to wear face coverings’ but the work was removed ‘due to our strict anti-graffiti policy’. A source said yesterday that ‘ some sort of rat thing’ was reported last week, adding: ‘ The cleaners, who work in teams of two or three, were just doing their job.
‘They were told to clean it, so they did. It doesn’t appear that they knew what they were cleaning off.’
Joey Syer, co-founder of MyArtBroker.com, which specialises in Banksy’s work, said the piece could have been worth £7.5million, adding: ‘It’s a huge shame and an opportunity lost for Londoners.’
Although it is an offence to deface a Tube carriage, it is understood that Banksy has not been reported to British Transport Police. TfL has even offered the anonymous artist, who posted his video – for which he wore hooded overalls and a mask – only on Tuesday, the chance to do a new version ‘in a suitable location’.