Mind the Banksy! Graffiti squad wipes out Tube art
HOW OVER-ZEALOUS CLEANING TEAM OBLITERATED ARTIST’S TRAIN RATS
A GRAFFITI artwork created by Banksy on a Tube train has been cleaned off.
The secretive artist posted a video yesterday showing images of rats, including one with a face mask, being sprayed on to a Circle line train.
Transport for London said the images had breached its “no graffiti” policy, prompting a social media backlash.
The artwork is thought to have been erased by a cleaner who had no knowledge of its significance, possibly as far back as last Friday.
A source said: “When we saw the video, we started to look into it and spoke to the cleaners. It started to emerge that they had noticed some sort of ‘rat thing’ a few days ago and cleaned it off, as they should. It rather changes the aspect for anyone seeking to go down the route of accusing us of cultural vandalism.”
The video appears to shows Banksy in a white protective suit and mask spray-painting stencils of his wellknown rat drawings, one using a face mask as a parachute and another with hand-sanitiser, on the inside of a Tube carriage as it travels towards Baker Street. When the doors open at Euston Square, the message “I get lockdown” can be seen in graffiti on the station walls. The Tube doors then shut to reveal the rest of the message: “But I get up again.”
Chumbawamba’s song Tubthumping, also known as I Get Knocked Down, plays as the doors touch together.
The video, on Banksy’s Instagram page, has been viewed more than three million times. Banksy posted the accompanying message: “If you don’t mask — you don’t get.”
A Tfl spokesman said: “We appreciate the sentiment of encouraging people to wear face coverings, which the vast majority of customers on our transport network are doing. In this particular case, the work was removed some days ago due to our strict anti-graffiti policy.
“We’d like to offer Banksy the chance to do a new version of his message for our customers in a suitable location.”