A police box on Leith Walk that has been turned into a space for multiple uses for its local community in Leith has been targeted by a vandal who sprayed over an existing artwork.
The act has sparked a furious reaction from a local councillor and has left the owner of the box immensely disappointed.
The damaged artwork, which is part of the project ‘Art Outside the Box’, is named an ‘Eggsistential Crisis’ and was designed by students at Leith Academy.
The project is supported by the Edinburgh Tool Library, Firstport and Leith Chooses with the idea of trying to introduce art to public spaces that it may not have traditionally belonged to before.
The panels that were designed by local students had an ineligible tag sprayed over them earlier this week and the move has angered the owner as well as local Green councillor Susan Rae.
Councillor Susan Rae noticed the damage when out for a walk on Leith Walk, she posted to Twitter: “Seriously who did this? The Police Box and art has managed to stay protected by an invisible wall of respect and pride and some idiot broke that trust.
“That’s an actual artist's work you’re scribbling over? I am furious. It’s just unnecessary and really ugly.”
She was joined in her condemnation by the owner of the police box, Monty Roy, who states that the Police Box has been closed for around four weeks while tram works are completed.
On the graffiti she said: “It is one of my favourite artworks. We have this project where we put art in public spaces and have been supported by the Edinburgh Tool Library, Leith chooses and Firsport. The project started around four years ago and so far we have had four rounds of different art work.
“In general they have been respected by tag artists. We have been tagged on the side of the box but never on the artwork itself. This is the first time the code has been broken.
“It is disappointing and I am trying to be stoical about it because graffiti is another form of expression and I may not like it and it may not float my boat but it is art to someone. I may not know what it is trying to say or appealing to but I just think it is a shame they have done it over someone else's work.
“‘Eggsistential Crisis’ was made by students from Leith academy and it was so beautiful as well as cleverly done. If you walk around Leith Walk at the moment there is a lot of graffiti, so maybe it is a phase, as there are a lot of artists tagging street furniture.
“It can make the place look run down and undesirable. I know many people feel very negatively towards graffiti but I think if it is done well and looks nice it could have its place. But I accept that I am unusual.
“Beauty is in the eye of the beholder but there is a difference with street art and graffiti. The Tram works team commissioned artists to paint the cable boxes in and around Leith and it is very well done..
“It is just so disappointing to see a tag artist destroy someone else’s work like this.”
‘Eggsistential Crisis’ appears to show a woman walking in the rain. The rain appears to flow downwards into a mysterious world of mushroom and egg people that live underground.
The Police Box can be found on Leith Walk and you can also visit their Facebook page here to see the various activities that they run.
