A garage in Port Talbot was formerly the home of work by world-renowned street artist Banksy but the artwork has since been removed by a gallery owner. Now, new artwork has appeared in the former home of Banksy and appears to be mocking the decision to remove it.
Named Season's Greetings the original Banksy piece shows a child enjoying snow falling, with the other side revealing it is from fire emitting ash and it was believed to be a reference to the Port Talbot steel works. Season's Greetings was then brought by John Brandler, a gallery owner, and remained in Port Talbot on display until January 2022.
The Banksy piece is currently on tour in Milan and Bristol street artists John Doh has now painted a new artwork in the same place, appearing to mock Mr Brandler. The new piece of art shows a family looking at a blank section of wall, annotated with "look Dad, it's a Banksy", followed by "no it's a John Brandler son."
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John Doh explained why he decided to paint the new artwork. He said: "A friend of mine named Steve Jenks contacted me via social media and asked me if I would like to paint something in Port Talbot. The first thing that came to mind when the town was mentioned was Banksy’s Season's Greetings piece that had long since been removed - not only removed from the garage on which it was painted but also from the town itself, which saddened many of the locals."
"Even the planned museum was also scrapped. I have spoken out against the removal of street art on many occasions, often through my own paintings."
John went on to explain why it was important that pieces like Banksy's Seasonal Greetings, remain where there were originally painted. He said: "Once removed from the location the artwork loses all its context and integrity, the location of the Seasons Greetings piece (like most of Banksy’s pieces) was excellent with the factories as a backdrop behind the artwork and that can’t be recreated when it is cut out and just thrown in a gallery or museum."
He added: "The artwork was made specifically in response to the high levels of dust pollution and low air quality in Port Talbot due mainly to the massive Tata steelwork plants there. This daily situational context cannot be recreated in a museum or gallery. By removing the artwork, one could argue it no longer stands as an indictment of a particular company or council, nor does it work as a constant galvanising reminder for the local citizens to take political action."
"Instead, it will probably be framed as a merely surprising visual joke with a much more vague generalisation about the environment. Rather than being openly available for the everyday people of Port Talbot to see, it will probably be relocated to an elite and perhaps intimidating institution that people must now pay to enter."
Mr Brandler is unfazed by the new artwork and said he was not offended by it. He said: "It is like being offended by a ladybug landing on your hand!"
He added it was "flattering" to see his name included in the artwork and called the new piece "weak" and "not particularly good", criticising the use of text and styling the people historically rather than in modern clothes.
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