Wales in bid to save Banksy mural in Port Talbot

https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2019/jan/11/wales-in-bid-to-save-banksy-mural-in-port-talbot

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Ian Lewis was scrolling through Facebook when he saw an image of a new Banksy artwork on a plain garage wall. He thought it looked a bit like his garage – and was shocked when it transpired that it actually was.

The arrival of the work has since transformed the Welsh town into a cultural destination, prompting an influx of visitors from as far as Australia and creating a cottage industry in souvenirs devoted to the piece.

But soon, Lewis, who built the garage in the 90s to protect his car, said he was having sleepless nights over the popularity of the work. Local concerns began to grow that Lewis could sell it to an out-of-town collector who might whisk it away from Port Talbot.

Residents, business people and politicians have come together to campaign to save the piece, with the Welsh government on Friday saying it was paying for security to protect it and was in talks to try to secure its future.

Banksy confirms he is behind Port Talbot mural

The Banksy appeared just before Christmas in Taibach, close to the Tata steelworks. From one angle, it shows a child in a bobble hat with a sled, apparently enjoying a snow shower and trying to catch the flakes on their tongue. But from another, it becomes clear that what is actually falling on the child is a shower of ash.

Banksy confirmed the work was his by releasing a video of the mural accompanied by the Christmas song Little Snowflake. The camera rises above the garage and shows Port Talbot’s rooftops and the billowing chimneys of the steelworks and other industrial buildings.

Lewis was amazed when visitors began arriving in their droves and realised that he had to find a way of protecting the piece. The community chipped in. A local operatic company paid for it to be protected in plastic and the actor Michael Sheen, who went to college in Port Talbot, stepped in to pay for security.

Lewis was feeling the pressure and not talking on Friday, but Bethan Sayed, Plaid Cymru South Wales West assembly member, who had spoken to him, said he wanted it to remain in the town.

He told her: “I want it to stay in Port Talbot, to stay in Wales. It’s brought attention to the town and I want to support that. They’re making Banksy mugs, coasters, T-shirts and stuff in the town to sell to the tourists. We’re getting 2,000 people a day visiting the garage, from as far away as Australia. I think someone wants to write a play about it. I can’t keep up with all the messages.”

Sayed, who is chair of the culture committee in the Welsh assembly, said the town had had its fair share of challenges – from previous job losses at Tata to anger over plans to build a “super prison” and an ongoing row over plans to close its motorway junction.

As the Banksy piece highlights, it also suffers from poor air quality. “The Banksy is very positive for the town. It’s turned into an amazing tourist attraction,” Sayed said. She suggested one solution could be that the piece is sold, loaned back to the town and set up in a more central location where it can be protected.

The Welsh government said it was taking over the cost of security and looking for a long-term solution. A spokesperson said: “We support a number of organisations – including the National Museum of Wales – to preserve culturally significant artworks and keep them in Wales for the benefit of current and future generations. We are in discussions to explore what we are able to do to assist.”

In the town centre, Faye Morgan and Mary Jones, who had just treated themselves to Banksy souvenirs – images of the work etched on to a piece of plastic – at the indoor shopping centre, agreed it should stay.

“He’s captured the place perfectly,” said Jones. “This is a proud town, a hard, industrial place but also somewhere with a sense of humour. I think he’s summed us up brilliantly.” Morgan said: “The most important thing is that it stays here. This is its home. It makes sense here and nowhere else. I think Banksy gave it to the town, not to one person.”

There is no doubt Banksy has gripped the imagination in Port Talbot. The poet Derek Davies has written an ode to it: Port Talbot’s got a Banksy. One man, Ricky Langdon, had a tattoo of the artwork on his chest.

At Kickstart motorcycles in Taibach, owner Paul Reynolds had put up a “Banksy must stay” poster in his window.

“I was born and bred a stone’s throw from it,” he said. “It’s been brilliant for the town. The chip shop ran out of potatoes, the baguette shop out of bread, so many people were visiting. This is a once-in-a-lifetime chance for the town. We have to keep it.”

Past Banksy controversies

The nature of Banksy’s work means that the long-term future of his pieces often provokes debate and causes upset.

One of his most famous recent works, Spy Booth, appeared on the gable wall of a house near GCHQ in Cheltenham, home to the government’s surveillance operations. Two years later it went missing with local people not sure if had been accidentally removed or deliberately taken.

The piece Art Buff – depicting a woman wearing headphones and staring at a plinth – was painted on to a wall in Folkestone, Kent. It was removed and flown to Miami but a British judge ruled it was to be returned.

A work called Mobile Lovers, depicting a couple embracing while checking their phones, appeared on the wall of a youth club in Bristol. When the owner of the club, David Stinchcombe, moved the painting inside the club, asking people for optional donations to view it, he received death threats. Banksy wrote Stinchcombe a letter declaring the painting to be an original and he went on to sell it to a collector for £400,000. The money has been used to keep the youth club running.