I’m not being funny but… we can’t have nice things. I’m talking about art. The latest in London art news has seen Banksy creating new work in Finsbury Park — a beautiful mural behind a real tree that gives the appearance of leaves. A few weeks ago Banksy confirmed it was his piece on social media — and not long after that the council, along with the building owner, decided to board up the installation. It’s a bit of an eyesore now.
Their reasoning for this is a little vague. Firstly it’s been reported as them saying residents have had concerns about the number of visitors to the site; but they are also saying the wood panelling will eventually include plastic panels so that the art can still be viewed. Which is it? My theory is that they want to protect this now valuable work of art. But here’s the thing: the purpose of most of Banksy’s art is for it to be enjoyed by everyone. Does it really still retain value if it’s not used for its intended purpose?
He’s used his art for a number of incredibly powerful political positions over the years as we all know, but street art is just that — art to be enjoyed on the street. By everyone. I would go as far as saying he didn’t choose Finsbury Park lightly. It’s a fast-growing area and I am sure that this installation will only bring positive attention to the borough. He is, and has always been, so good at putting energy back into a space.
I suppose they want to protect the Banksy art, but the purpose of his work is for everyone to enjoy it
I understand that someone vandalised the painting by throwing white paint at it, which is of course a shame. Perhaps there can be some sort of measure here to stop that from happening. But then again, do we think that’s what the artist would want? For all his works of street art to be sheltered from society? I remember the cash machine on Rosebery Avenue because I lived right next to it. Locals could just go up to it and take out a Princess Diana note. I still have mine up in my hallway. What happened to the ATM? People came along and put perspex over it. It’s been graffitied up and now not many people even know it’s a Banksy anymore.
The rat with a chainsaw in Shoreditch was covered up for 12 years before it was revealed again amid demolition on the site. The artist himself said he didn’t feel like it should have been preserved and it leaves me wondering if we’re treating these circumstances like we should.
On the other end of the spectrum you have demonstrations all around the world whereby protesters attempt to destroy priceless works of art. I don’t like getting political on here and while I appreciate there is a common message behind these acts, I have to ask why? Why are you going into public museums and trying to destroy publicly accessible art that us normal people just want to enjoy. It just seems that the targeting is all f***ed up. I get that a lot of those pieces are associated with obscene wealth, but a lot of the vandalism is targeted at museum or government-owned paintings.
I suppose what I’m getting at here is… the arts are always under threat as it is. Funding cuts are constantly hanging over people who work in the arts, including myself and my colleagues in music. It’s increasingly difficult to express yourself in this country as it is. Can we not direct our attention to other things and leave the art alone? That’s all most of us ask.
Speaking of art, I can’t quite believe it’s been a year since I collaborated with Opake on my first exhibition. It was called Church Halls & Broken Biscuits and I loved every minute of the process. Last week I had the honour of sitting down with one of the greats — Tracey Emin joined me on the podcast I host with Nick Knight’s SHOWStudio called Fashion Radio. We explore the relationship of music in fashion and fashion in music with new episodes every Wednesday wherever you get your podcasts. My chat to Tracey was, as you can imagine, fantastically colourful and she shared with us some incredible storytelling. Go check it out. See you next Wednesday.
Track of the week: Jolene — Beyoncé
