Banksy artwork on London Underground encourages mask-wearing
News
Banksy has visited the capital again, and this time, he’s encouraging the use of face-masks amid the coronavirus pandemic.
In a video posted to Banksy’s Instagram account, the elusive graffiti artist shared footage of London Underground being deep cleaned, before posing as a worker and spray painting the interior of a London Underground tube train.
The murals depicted one rat sneezing pale blue droplets of virus across a carriage window, with one struggling under a face mask and another using it as a parachute, with Banksy captioning the image: “If you don’t mask – you don’t get”. The video was also soundtracked by Chumbawumba’s 1997 ‘Tubthumping’, with one of the station walls’ murals reading “I get lockdown but I get up again”.
Transport For London, who operate London Underground, said today (15th July) that they had removed the artwork. TFL added that while they “appreciate the sentiment” in “this particular case, the work was removed some days ago due to our strict anti-graffiti policy.”
TFL also said that they would “like to offer Banksy the chance to do a new version of his message for our customers in a suitable location.”
In 2019, a rare Röyksopp record featuring a cover painted by Banksy sold for $10,256.
Last year, Banksy launched an online store giving fans the chance to get their hands on some of his rare and unique creations.
View this post on Instagram. . If you don’t mask – you don’t get.
