A mural created in honour of the late Paul O'Grady was defaced just days after its initial creation, painted over with crude graffiti.
The memorial was put up under Kingsway on the Fallowfield Loop last week, shortly after it was announced that the 67-year-old TV star and personality had passed 'unexpectedly but peacefully', Tuesday (March 28).
The mural itself featured a large portrait of a smiling Paul, close to a dog - nodding to the selfless work that the star carried out with the Battersea Dogs & Cats Home. A tag reading: "For Paul," was also put alongside it.
Read more: Paul O'Grady's final wish revealed by best friend for TV legend's funeral
Artist Manchester Murals were the driving power behind the creation, describing the art as a manner of remembrance for the 'well-grounded entertainment machine that spanned generations' reports the MEN. And the artwork was immediately received in a positive light by those living in Manchester and even further afield.
One wrote: "Beautiful, lovely tribute," while another, added: "Absolutely fantastic tribute to a great legend."
However, a number of people hoping to visit the mural as a sign of respect were met by a now defaced portrait of O'Grady and the dog, with graffiti scrambled across the work. Speaking on the occurrence, 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 admitted that the project took him a couple of days to complete, also admitted that he was 'disappointed' to find that his art had been defaced - but showed understanding of the reality of what comes with the trade. He added: "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."
While Chris hasn't ruled out reworking and restoring the ruined mural, he explained that he would prefer to rehome the design somewhere else. He continued: "I guess, ideally, it’d be nice for it to be rehoused now.
“It would be great to do it at Battersea Dogs Home so it could live on permanently as a fitting home.”
Chris also revealed that he has been completely inundated with messages of positivity since creating his latest piece - with previous murals to the likes of Phil Foden, David Gilmour and Phil Rosenthal all in his locker. Chris went on: "I’ve spent my adult life in Manchester, I feel an affinity to the city.
"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.”
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