A mural in south Manchester celebrating the life of comedian Paul O’Grady has been defaced and sprayed with graffiti just days after being created.
The mural appeared under Kingsway on the Fallowfield Loop earlier this week after the announcement that the star and television personality died 'unexpectedly but peacefully' at the age of 67 on Tuesday evening (March 28).
Featuring O'Grady's portrait next to a dog alongside the caption 'For Paul', the original artwork was created by artist Manchester Murals, who described it earlier this week as a way of recognising the ‘well-grounded entertainment machine that spanned generations’.
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The mural was immediately met with appreciation from people in Manchester and beyond. "Beautiful, lovely tribute," one person said, while another said: "Absolutely fantastic tribute to a great legend."
On Sunday (April 2), people visiting the mural to pay their respects to the star discovered the portrait of O'Grady and the dog had been defaced.
Speaking to the M.E.N today, artist Chris Moore, aka Manchester Murals, said: ”I did this work out of a passion for my art and out of respect for Paul O’Grady who meant so much to people and animals throughout his life.
“I was instantly driven to create a fitting mural in his honour, and I felt it was only natural to include a dog in that.”
Chris, who said he spent a couple of days working on the project, said he was ‘disappointed’ to discover earlier today that his artwork had been defaced but understood that it’s one of the realities that comes with street art.
He said: “It would have been nice for it to last longer. I only finished it on Thursday so it’s not even been three days since it was created.
"I can kind of understand people’s disappointment in that the mural has only lasted as long as it has, especially given how recent his passing was, but, ultimately and unfortunately, this is part of the nature of the street art and mural scene."
Chris said he has ‘not ruled out’ the possibility of repairing the artwork, but explained he, ultimately, would prefer to now rehome the design altogether.
“I guess, ideally, it’d be nice for it to be rehoused now,” he explained. “It would be great to do it at Battersea Dogs Home so it could live on permanently as a fitting home.”
Since unveiling the artwork on Thursday, Chris, who has also previously created artwork featuring the likes of footballer Phil Foden, Pink Floyd's David Gilmour and chef Phil Rosenthal, said he has been inundated with positive messages about the mural this week.
“I’ve spent my adult life in Manchester, I feel an affinity to the city,” he added. “I’ve been painting professionally for over two years and I’m just trying to build the business and my portfolio to try and turn my passion into a full-time career.
“The response has been overwhelming, I’ve had loads of messages from people asking where it was located as they wanted to visit it with their dogs. I’m really happy that people were able to enjoy it.”
You can follow Manchester Murals on Facebook and Instagram.
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