Council protects Westminster Banksy art work after rumours a milkshake was spilt over it

An artwork by internationally renowned graffiti artist Banksy which appeared during the Extinction Rebellion protest has been covered with a protective layer to protect it.

The artwork at one of the capital’s busiest roundabouts at Marble Arch features a kneeling child planting a tree and the words “From this moment despair ends and tactics begin”.

After the graffiti appeared during the 10 days of protests by Extinction Rebellion in central London this April art conservationists looked at the best way to preserve the artwork.

Westminster Council has put a permanent polycarbonate case to protect it from damage, after taking advice from art conservationists.

Iain Bott, the council’s cabinet member for sports, culture and community said: “Our priority has always been making sure this street art remains in public view for our visitors to enjoy.

“We want Westminster to be an exciting, vibrant place to be and are fortunate to have so many famous statues, landmarks and artworks on our streets – this piece is a welcome addition.”

He said although the work has attracted a lot of attention “sadly some of that attention isn’t positive – so we needed to take steps to protect and preserve it for the future.”

The artist, who preserves his identity and usually works undercover of night, attracts six figure sums for his work at auction.

Activists from Extinction Rebellion used Marble Arch as a camp during the protests which brought traffic to a standstill at Oxford Circus, Waterloo Bridge and around Parliament.

Although the work was unauthorised, Westminster Council leader Nickie Aiken said it was there to stay. “Banksy’s work always generates excitement,” she said.

She commented: “This street art has clearly captured the public mood and imagination, and so we’re looking to keep it in a public place for people to enjoy.”

This week (Wednesday, September 19) Westminster council declared a climate emergency, pledging to become carbon neutral by 2030.

The Central London borough has high volumes of traffic and as a tourist and commuting hotspot attracts one million visitors a day and produces more carbon emissions than the whole of the cities of Cardiff or Newcastle, the council said.

In April Cllr Aiken said: “The piece will act as a daily reminder to all of us of the need to work together to protect our planet, particularly when the concerns of climate change are very much in the news.”

When it appeared the council quickly put a preservation order on it.

The move represents a change of policy since 2008 when the council ordered the removal of the One Nation Under CCTV artwork which appeared on the wall of a building used by the Royal Mail in Newman Street, near Tottenham Court Road.

It also wanted to see the back of the Banksy What Are You Looking At? Which appeared opposite a CCTV camera in an underpass near Marble Arch in 2008.

Last November the City of London Corporation-run Barbican arts centre also said it was preserving a potentially valuable Banksy.

The internationally celebrated artist whose work fetches six figure sums at auction paid a clandestine visit to the Square Mile just before the opening of the Barbican’s blockbuster Basquiat: Boom for Real exhibition opened in 2017.

He created two works overnight in homage to the pioneering New York artist Jean-Michel Basquiat.