BONHAMS TO SELL BANKSY SAVE OR DELETE JUNGLE BOOK, 2001

AN ORIGINAL ART WORK BY THE LEGENDARY STREET ARTIST, BANKSY, FOR A GREENPEACE SAVE OR DELETE CAMPAIGN PHOTOGRAPHIC POSTER, IS TO BE SOLD AT BONHAM'S NEW BOND STREET, LONDON, AS PART OF ITS URBAN ART SALE ON 11.JANUARY. ESTIMATED AT £60,000 - 80,000, THE UNIQUE PIECE (LOT 67) WAS GIVEN TO THE VENDOR BY THE ARTIST HIMSELF. THE ARTWORK WAS COMMISSIONED BY GREENPEACE TO HIGHLIGHT THE PROBLEMS OF GLOBAL DEFORESTATION AS PART OF THEIR SAVE OR DELETE CAMPAIGN. THE IMAGE, WHICH FEATURES SOME OF THE MAIN CHARACTERS FROM DISNEY'S THE JUNGLE BOOK TRANSPOSED ONTO A PICTURE OF A DEVASTATED FOREST, WAS INTENDED FOR USE ON POSTERS, BILLBOARDS AND POSTCARDS. WHILE IT WAS PRINTED, IT WAS NEVER PUT INTO CIRCULATION BECAUSE OF THE PROTECTIONIST POLICIES AT DISNEY. A VERSION OF THE POSTER IS ILLUSTRATED IN BANKSY'S WALL AND PIECE BOOK. OTHER SALE HIGHLIGHTS INCLUDE A PERFORMANCE PIECE (LOT 18) CREATED BY AMERICAN GRAFFITI ARTIST, FUTURA 2000, FOR PUNK ROCK BAND THE CLASH'S COMBAT ROCK TOUR. BEST-KNOWN FOR PAINTING SUBWAY TRAINS DURING THE 1970s, FUTURA 2000 WAS COMMISSIONED TO PAINT THE STAGE BACKDROP FOR THE CLASH WHILST THEY PERFORMED. ESTIMATED AT £15,000 – 20,000, IT IS BELIEVED TO BE THE ONLY WORK TO HAVE SURVIVED FROM THE GIGS.


IN ADDITION TO BANKSY'S SAVE OR DELETE JUNGLE BOOK, 2001, THE SALE FEATURES NINE WORKS BY THE ARTIST. THEY INCLUDE:

• LOT 1 – BANKSY, BALLOON GIRL, 2004 (ESTIMATE £5,000 – 7,000)
• LOT 10 - BANKSY, RUDE COPPER, 2002 (ESTIMATE £4,000 – 6,000)
• LOT 11 - BANKSY, EVERYTIME I MAKE LOVE TO YOU I THINK OF SOMEONE ELSE, 2003 (ESTIMATE 30,000 – 40,000)
• LOT 27 – BANKSY, SOUP CAN, LILAC/CHERRY/MINT, 2005 (ESTIMATE £3,000 – 5,000)
• LOT 35 – BANKSY, WATCHTOWER, 2007 (ESTIMATE £5,000 – 7,000)
• LOT 36 – BANKSY, BOMB LOVE, 2004 (ESTIMATE £4,000 – 6,000)
• LOT 45 – BANKSY – PORTRAIT OF AN ARTIST, circa 1998 (ESTIMATE £50,000 – 70,000)
• LOT 58 – BANKSY – HAVE A NICE DAY, 2002 (ESTIMATE £4,000 – 6,000)
• LOT 66 – BANKSY – FLAG (GOLD), 2007 (ESTIMATE £2,500 – 3,500)

BANKSY CREATES 'THE SIMPSONS' EPISODE

THE ALWAYS CLEVER AND OFTEN SUBVERSIVE OPENING SEQUENCE FOR 'THE SIMPSONS' TOOK A DARKER THAN USUAL TURN WITH SUNDAY'S EPISODE, DEPICTING THE ANIMATION PROCESS FOR THE FOX CARTOON SERIES AS SWEATSHOP DRUDGERY PERFORMED BY AN EXPLOITED ASIAN UNDERCLASS. CREATED BY THE STREET ARTIST AND ACTIVIST BANKSY, THE SEQUENCE BEGAN WITH THE SIGHT OF HOMETOWN SPRINGFIELD COVERED WITH GRAFFITI, AND TAGGED BY BANKSY HIMSELF. THEN, WHEN THE SIMPSON FAMILY GATHERS ON THEIR LIVING ROOM COUCH, THAT IMAGE BECOMES A REFERENCE SHOT OF LEGIONS OF WORKERS IN THE GRIM INDUSTRIAL COMPLEX WHERE THEY PAINT CARTOON CELLS AND CHURN OUT SIMPSONS MERCHANDISE. THE ENTIRE ENTERPRISE IS HOUSE IN A DREARY-LOOKING FACTORY SPRAWL SURROUNDED BY BARBED WIRE AND IDENTIFIED BY THE LOOMING 20th CENTURY FOX LOGO AND SEARCHLIGHTS. THROUGH ITS LONG HISTORY, 'THE SIMPSONS' HAS NEVER HESITATES TO LAMPOON ITS NETWORK BOSSES AND OTHER FOX PROGRAMMING. BUT SUNDAY'S SELF-INFLICTED JAB WAS INSPIRED BY THE FACT THAT MUCH OF THE ROTE PRODUCTION WORK FOR EACH SIMPSONS EPISODE IS INDEED OUTSOURCED FROM THE SERIES' LA CREATIVE HUB TO STUDIOS IN SOUTH KOREA. THE SEQUENCE'S MASTERMIND, BANKSY, IS AN INTERNATIONAL FIGURE IN STREET ART WHO IS KNOWN FOR TRAVELING THE WORLD AND ANONYMOUSLY LEAVING HIS SIGNATURE PIECES IN PUBLIC AREAS WHILE REFUSING TO REVEAL HIS REAL NAME. ON MONDAY. SIMPSONS EXECUTIVE PRODUCER AL JEAN SAID HE HAD HIT ON THE IDEA OF INVITING BANKSY TO CREATE A SO-CALLED 'COUCH GAG' AFTER SEEING THE FILM HE DIRECTED, 'EXIT THROUGH THE GIFT SHOP', WHICH WAS RELEASED EARLIER THIS YEAR. THE SIMPSONS CASTING DIRECTOR MANAGED TO TRACK DOWN THE FAMOUSLY HARD TO REACH ARTIST, AND A FEW MONTHS LATER HIS WORK WAS SUBMITTED. ALTHOUGH JEAN SAID THE SEGMENT WAS 'TONED DOWN A LITTLE' FOR AIRING, 'THERE WAS NOTHING UNUSUAL FROM THE NETWORK IN TERMS OF NOTES OR DELAYS. 'FOX HAS A REMARKABLE ABILITY TO MAKE FUN OF ITSELF AND BE GRACIOUS', HE SAID.

BANKSY 'RAT' ART STOLEN IN MELBOURNE

THIEVES HAVE STOLEN A VALUABLE PAINTING OF A RAT CARRYING A SUITCASE, BY THE ANONYMOUS GRAFFITI ARTIST BANKSY, FROM A METER BOX OUTSIDE A HOUSE IN THE AUSTRALIAN CITY OF MELBOURNE, POLICE SAID THURSDAY. POLICE SAID THE UNIQUE ARTWORK WAS STOLEN BETWEEN 24.APRIL AND 15.MAY FROM THE DOOR OF A METER BOX OUTSIDE THE MELBOURNE HOME OF UNDERWEAR DESIGNER MITCH DOWD, BUT THE THEFT WAS ONLY DISCOVERED RECENTLY BECAUSE DOWD HAD BEEN OUT OF TOWN. THE THEFT CAME SHORTY AFTER THE VALUE OF THE ARTIST'S WORK HIT THE HEADLINES WHEN STREET CLEANERS IN MELBOURNE PAINTED OVER A STENCIL OF A RAT BY BANKSY ELSEWHERE IN THE CITY. DOWD SAID IT WAS DISAPPOINTING THAT THIEVES HAD TARGETED THE ARTWORK BY THE SECRETIVE BANKSY, ONE OF THE WORLD'S TOP STREET ARTISTS WHOSE REAL IDENTITY REMAINS UNKNOWN. 'THE HOUSE FACES RIGHT ONTO THE PAVEMENT SO EVERYONE WOULD WALK BY AND SEE IT ALL THE TIME AND NOW ALL THAT'S THERE IS A BLACK BOX', DOWD SAID IN A RECENT STATEMENT. BANKSY IS FAMOUS FOR ILLEGAL OUTDOOR GRAFFITI, INCLUDING PAINTING THE WEST BANK BARRIER AND LEAVING A LIFE-SIZE FIGURE OF A GUANTANAMO BAY DETAINEE AT CALIFORNIA THEME PARK DISNEYLAND. FROM A SMALL-TIME GRAFFITI ARTIST TO A GLOBAL STAR, BANKSY'S WORK HAS BECOME SO VALUABLE THAT SEVERAL OF HIS STREET WORKS HAVE BEEN SALVAGED AND SOLD, INCLUDING A PAINTING ON A LONDON WALL THAT FETCHED $340,000 IN 2008.

BANKSY CREATE 'RUN FOR YOUR LIVES!!!' MURAL AT PRIMROSE HILL PUB

GRAFFITI ARTIST BANKSY HAS 'STRUCK' IN YET ANOTHER NIGHT-TIME RAID, PRODUCING A MURAL ON THE WALL OF A PRIMROSE HILL PUB. THE MANAGERS OF THE PRINCESS OF WALES, KAREN AND LAWRENCE SANTI, WERE INITIALLY UPSET TO DISCOVER THERE HAD BEEN AN INTRUDER OVERNIGHT BEFORE DISCOVERING THE UNINVITED GUEST WAS NONE OTHER THAN THE FAMOUS MYSTERY ARTIST, WHO PRODUCES MOST OF HIS WORKS UNDETECTED AND CLOSELY GUARDS HIS IDENTITY. BANKSY'S WORK HAS BEEN SOLD FOR HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF POUNDS. SANTO REVEALED HER HUSBAND WAS ABOUT TO BEGIN PAINTING OVER THE OUTDOOR MURAL OF A LION AND LITTLE GIRL, ABOVE WHICH THE MESSAGE 'RUN FOR YOUR LIVES!!!' IS WRITTEN IN RED PAINT, WHEN THEY LEARNED THE IDENTITY OF THE ARTIST. SHE SAID THE ARTIST HAD MOST LIKELY ENTERED THROUGH A GATE THAT WAS ACCIDENTALLY LEFT OPEN, OR BY USING A STEPLADDER CAPTURED IN THE CCTV FOOTAGE. WHILE THE FOOTAGE OF THE INCIDENT SHOWS BANKSY CLEARLY, HIS FACE IS COVERED BY A HOODED TOP. THE FOOTAGE, WHICH BEGINS AT ABOUT 1am, SHOWS HIM SETTING UP A LIGHT TO ILLUMINATE HIS 'CANVAS' AND STANDING BACK TO APPRAISE HIS WORK. WHILE THERE IS NO CONCRETE PROOF THE WORK BELONGS TO BANKSY, THE SIGNATURE ON A BALLOON STRING IN THE MURAL APPEARS TO BE HIS.

MELBOURNE BANKSY DESTROYED BY CLEANERS

AN AUSTRALIAN COUNCIL IS RUEING A DECISION TO SEND STREET CLEANERS INTO A MELBOURNE LANE AFTER THEY PAINTED OVER A PRICELESS STENCIL OF A RAT BY THE CELEBRATED STREET ARTIST BANKSY. MELBOURNE DEPUTY MAYOR SUSAN RILEY LAST WEEK SENT A CLEAN-UP TEAM INTO HOSIER LANE, RENOWNED INTERNATIONALLY FOR ITS COLOURFUL STREET ART, TO CLEAN UP GARBAGE IN THE GRAFFITI-LINED PASSAGE AFTER LOCAL RESIDENTS COMPLAINED. BUT THE REQUEST WENT AWRY WHEN THE CLEANERS PAINTED OVER A BANKSY STENCIL OF A RAT HANGING UNDERNEATH A PARACHUTE AND ADORNING THE WALL OF AN OLD COUNCIL BUILDING. 'UNFORTUNATELY THE CONTRACTORS WERE NOT MADE AWARE BY US THAT THERE WAS AN IMPORTANT PIECE. IT IS THE NATURE OF GRAFFITI ART. IT'S VERY VULNERABLE TO OTHER PEOPLE'S WORK', COUNCIL CHIEF EXECUTIVE KATHY ALEXANDER TOLD THE LOCAL RADIO IN A RECENT INTERVIEW. THE RECLUSIVE BANKSY, WHO IS REGARDED AS ONE OF THE WORLD'S TOP STREET ARTISTS, PAINTED SEVERAL STENCILS IN MELBOURNE DURING A 2003 VISIT. HIS SATIRICAL AND DISTINCTIVE ART IS OFTEN DIRECTED AT ANTI-WAR, CULTURAL AND ANTI-CAPITALIST THEMES. IN 2008, A LONDON WALL BEARING ONE OF HIS STENCILS WAS SAID TO HAVE BEEN SOLD ON EBAY FOR ALMOST $500,000. IT IS NOT THE FIRST TIME BANKSY'S ART HAS BEEN FOULED IN MELBOURNE. VANDALS CREATED ANOTHER OUTCRY IN 2008 WHEN THEY POURED PAINT OVER THE ARTIST'S STENCIL OF A DIVER IN AN OLD-FASHIONED HELMET AND WEARING A TRENCH-COAT. THAT WORK WAS AFTERWARDS PROTECTED BY A SHEET OF CLEAR PERSPEX, ALTHOUGH VANDALS STRUCK AGAIN AND POURED SILVER PAINT BEHIND THE BARRIER, TAGGING IT WITH THE WORDS, 'BANKSY WOZ ERE'. ALEXANDER SAID THE CITY COUNCIL WOULD RUSH THROUGH RETROSPECTIVE PERMITS TO PROTECT OTHER FAMOUS OR SIGNIFICANT ARTWORKS IN AUSTRALIA'S SECOND-LARGEST CITY. 'IN HINDSIGHT, WE SHOULD HAVE ACTED SOONER TO FORMALLY APPROVE AND PROTECT BANKSY'S WORKS', SHE SAID.

BRITISH BAND RECEIVES BANKSY PAINTING

AN UNEXPECTED PAINTING ARRIVED OUTSIDE SIMON DUNCAN'S WEST LONDON HOME RECENTLY, AND OVERNIGHT IT HAS PUT HIM AT THE HEART OF STREET CULTURE AND MADE HIM AT LEAST £200,000 WEALTHIER. A UNIQUE NEW WORK BY STREET ARTIST BANKSY WAS SENT UNEXPECTEDLY LAST WEEK TO DUNCAN, A 41 YEAR OLD WEB DEVELOPER, AS COMPENSATION FOR THE ARTIST HAVING COINCIDENTALLY CHOSEN THE NAME OF DUNCAN'S BAND AS THE TITLE FOR HIS NEXT FILM, 'EXIT THROUGH THE GIFT SHOP'. 'I AM A DRUMMER I A BAND THAT WAS CALLED EXIT THROUGH THE GIFT SHOP THAT I STARTED WITH FRIENDS 18 MONTHS BEFORE I TURNED 40. IT WAS A KIND OF MIDLIFE CRISIS, BUT WE ARE STILL GOING, WITH A DIFFERENT LINE-UP, AND IT HAS BECOME A BIT MORE SERIOUS', SAID DUNCAN, WHO AGREED TO CHANGE HIS BAND'S NAME 'TO BRACE YOURSELF' IN AN ARRANGEMENT WITH BANKSY. 'WE HAD THESE HILARIOUS EMAILS FROM SOMEONE SAYING HE WAS BANKSY, BUT WE DIDN'T KNOW IF THEY WERE GENUINE', SAID DUNCAN. 'THEN A SCRUFFY WHITE VAN ARRIVED. THE DRIVER HAD NO IDEA WHAT HE WAS CARRYING.' THE BAND PLAN TO UNVEIL THEIR NEW NAME AND BACKDROP, WHICH SHOWS THE GRIM REAPER RIDING A DODGEM CAR, AT A LONDON GIG LATER THIS WEEK. THE BAND HAS PUT THE PAINTING IN STORAGE AT SOTHEBY'S AND WILL PERFORM IN FRONT OF A FULL-SIZE COPY.

BANKSY ART TO BE SOLD BY TWO LONDON LADS

TWO YOUNG CHANCERS FROM CLAPHAM RECENTLY SPENT £13,000TO REMOVE AN ART BY BANKSY FROM THE STREETS OF SOUTH LONDON AND HIT THE JACKPOT AFTER IT WAS VALUED AT OVER £500,000. BRADLEY RIDGE AND NICK LOIZOU ARE LIFELONG FRIENDS FROM SOUTH LONDON. ON 9.NOVEMBER LAST YEAR BRADLEY HEARD ABOUT A PIECE OF BANKSY STREET ART APPEARING ON BEDDINGTTON FARM ROAD IN CROYDON. BEING A FAN OF THE ILLUSIVE STREET ARTIST, BRADLEY THOUGHT HE WOULD SEIZE THE OPPORTUNITY. NINE SLEEPLESS NIGHTS LATER, A FEW THREATS OF PHYSICAL ABUSE, £13,000 IN COSTS AND A DEAL WITH A LOCAL LAND OWNER, BRADLEY AND NICK NOW OWN A VERY RARE PIECE OF MODERN ART. THE COLLECTOR'S ITEM IS THE ONLY PIECE OF BANKSY STREET ART CURRENTLY ON THE ART MARKET. IN RECENT YEARS BANKSY WALLS HAVE FETCHED UP TO £300,000 AND CELEBRITIES SUCH AS BRAD PITT HAVE SPENT AROUND £400,000 ON HIS STUDIO ART. BRADLEY AND NICK HAVE ALREADY RECEIVED ONE OFFER BUT ARE DETERMINED TO MAXIMIZE THEIR OPPORTUNISM.

BANKSY IN GRAFFITI WAR AFTER PAINTING OVER 24 YEAR OLD MURAL

GRAFFITI STREET ARTIST BANKSY HAS BECOME EMBROILED IN A TIT-FOR-TAT ROW WITH ANOTHER STREET ARTIST AFTER DELIBERATELY SPRAYING OVER A 24 YEAR OLD ARTWORK. THE ELUSIVE AEROSOL PAINTER HAS CAUSED AN OUTRAGE BY COVERING UP A PIECE OF GRAFFITI THAT HAD REMAINED UNTOUCHED SINCE IT WAS PAINTED IN 1985. ITS CREATOR, 'ROBBO', A HUGELY RESPECTED GRAFFITI ARTIST, IMMEDIATELY RETALIATED BY SPRAYING HIS NAME OVER BANKSY'S PAINTING OF A WORKMAN ON A WALL IN NORTH LONDON. COVERING OVER SOMEONE ELSE'S GRAFFITI IS SEEN AS THE ULTIMATE MARK OF DISRESPECT WITHIN THE STREET ART COMMUNITY. THE DISPUTE BEGAN LAST WEEK WHEN BANKSY PRODUCED SEVERAL PAINTINGS ALONG THE REGENTS'S CANAL AREA IN THE RUN-UP TO CHRISTMAS. ONE FEATURED A CHARACTER IN WORKMAN'S OVERALLS PASTING GRAFFITI COVERED WALLPAPER ON A GRAY WALL, WHICH COVERED ROBO'S 1985 MURAL. ROBBO, WHOSE REAL NAME IS UNKNOWN, PROMPTLY RECLAIMED HIS SPACE AND COVERED OVER THE EXPOSED PART OF THE WALL WITH A NEW PAINTING DECLARING 'KING ROBBO' IN 3 FOOT HIGH SILVER LETTERS. THE ROW HAS SPARKED A WAR OF WORDS ON PHOTOGRAPHY WEBSITE FLIKR, WHERE ROBBO AND HIS ASSOCIATES AND ARTISTS FROM AROUND BRITAIN HAVE VOICED THEIR DISGUST AT BANKSY'S ACT OF DISRESPECT. ONE GRAFFITI WRITER, CALLING HIMSELF CITRUS TOPNOTE JR, SAID: 'IN THE WORLD OF GRAFFITI YOU DON'T USE OTHER PEOPLE'S WORK AS PART OF YOUR OWN UNLESS YOU'RE FRIENDS WITH THEM AND YOU AGREE BEFOREHAND. REGARDLESS OF THE ROBBO, IT SHOULD HAVE BEEN LEFT ALONE. SOMEONE WHO'S BEEN AROUND AS LONG AS BANKSY SHOULD KNOW THE DRILL BY NOW. THAT SORT OF S*** IS ASKING FOR TROUBLE.' IT'S NOT THE FIRST TIME THE INFAMOUS ARTIST HAS FALLEN FOUL OF FELLOW GRAFFITI ARTISTS. LAST MONTH A SECTION OF WALL IN A CROYDON INDUSTRIAL ESTATE FEATURING A BANKSY WORK WAS REMOVED AFTER VANDALS COVERED IT WITH TAGS.AND IN MARCH THIS YEAR, A MURAL BANKSY HAD DEDICATED TO A LATE GRAFFITI ARTIST CALLED OZONE WAS PAINTED OVER. THE ENIGMATIC ARTIST, WHOSE IDENTITY IS STILL UNCONFIRMED, IS NOW THOUGHT TO BE A MILLIONAIRE THANKS TO HIS POPULARITY AMONGST THE ART COMMUNITY AND CELEBRITIES ALIKE. IN 2005, CHRISTINA AGUILERA BOUGHT AN ORIGINAL DEPICTION OF QUEEN VICTORIA AS A LESBIAN AND TWO PRINTS FOR £25,000. THE FOLLOWING YEAR ANGELINA JOLIE PURCHASED THREE OF HIS WORKS TOTALING £250,000.

VANDALS DEFACE BANKSY MURAL UP FOR NEIGHBORHOOD VOTE

A NEIGHBORHOOD COUNCIL IN SOUTH LONDON THAT INVITED LOCALS TO VOTE ON WHETHER TO KEEP A BANKSY STREET ART PIECE EMBLAZONED ON THE SIDE OF A BUILDING ARE NOW IN THE CURIOUS POSITION OF HAVING TO DECIDE WHETHER TO RESTORE THE PIECE AFTER IT WAS DEFACED BY GRAFFITI RECENTLY. LAST MONTH, THE SUTTON COUNCIL DECIDED TO ACCEPT VOTES FROM CITIZENS ON WHETHER TO KEEP OR REMOVE THE UNIQUE BANKSY WORK, WHICH SHOWS A "PUNK"CONSULTING AN INSTRUCTION MANUAL FOR PRODUCING GRAFFITI NEXT TO A CARDBOARD BOX LABELED IEAK (AN ANAGRAM OF THE SCANDINAVIAN FURNITURE STORE IKEA). "WE BELIEVE IN DEMOCRACY AND WANTED LOCAL PEOPLE TO DECIDE WHAT SHOULD HAPPEN TO THE BANKSY", COUNCIL MEMBER COLIN HALL EXPLAINED. A CHECK OF CURRENT VOTING SHOWED THAT 93% OF THE 250 VOTERS WHO CAST BALLOTS WERE IN FAVOUR OF KEEPING THE WORK ON DISPLAY. AFTER VANDALS TAGGED THE WORK WITH GRAFFITI LATE LAST MONTH, THOUGH, THERE IS NO LONGER MUCH TO SHOW. HALL NOTED THE IRONY OF THE ATTACK: "THE IMAGE ACTUALLY CRITICIZED MINDLESS GRAFFITI, SO PERHAPS IT ISN'T SURPRISING THAT THE SORT OF PEOPLE WHO DO THAT SORT OF THING SHOULD ATTACK IT." THE COUNCIL IS NOW DEBATING WHETHER TO RESTORE THE PIECE OR REMOVE IT ENTIRELY.

BANKSY'S RECENT MURAL GOES TO PUBLIC VOTE FOR ITS FATE

A LONDON COUNCIL IS OFFERING ITS RESIDENTS THE OPPORTUNITY TO DECIDE WHETHER A BANKSY MURAL SHOULD STAY OR GO. THE ART WORK, DEPICTING A PUNK LEAFING THROUGH INSTRUCTIONS BESIDE A BOX LABELED 'IEAK', APPEARED IN SUTTON, SOUTH WEST LONDON, ABOUT TEN DAYS AGO. A PHOTOGRAPH OF THE WORK ON BANKSY'S WEBSITE CONFIRMED THAT THE NEW IMAGE WAS INDEED THE ARTIST'S WORK. SINCE INVITING PEOPLE TO EMAIL IN LAST THURSDAY, THE COUNCIL HAS RECEIVED MORE THAN 100 EMAILS, WITH 85% RULING THAT THE GRAFFITI-ARTWORK SHOULD STAY. COLIN HALL. EXECUTIVE MEMBER FOR ENVIRONMENT ON SUTTON COUNCIL, SAID THAT THE PIECE "CAUGHT THE IMAGINATION", AND THAT THE DECISION TO RETAIN OR REMOVE IT SHOULD BE A PUBLIC ONE. "WE DON'T TOLERATE GRAFFITI IN SUTTON, AND HAVE A PAIR OF DEDICATED TEAMS WHO GO OUT DAILY TO REMOVE IT. BUT WE'RE WELL AWARE THAT MANY PEOPLE SEE A DIFFERENCE BETWEEN MINDLESS TAGGING AND A WORK SUCH AS THIS." THE MOVE COMES AFTER A DIFFERENT LONDON AUTHORITY WAS CRITICIZED LAST MONTH FOR REMOVING A SKETCH BY BANKSY, WHOSE WORKS HAVE SOLD FOR HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF POUNDS. OFFICIALS FROM HACKNEY COUNCIL PAINTED OVER A CARTOON THAT HAD BEN LEFT UNTOUCHED ON THE SIDE OF A BLOCK OF FLATS IN STOKE NEWINGTON, EAST LONDON, FOR EIGHT YEARS, LEAVING THE BUILDING'S OWNER 'DEVASTATED'. IT IS NOT THE FIRST TIME A DECISION OVER WHETHER TO RETAIN A PIECE OF BANKSY'S ARTWORK HAS BEEN PUT TO THE PUBLIC. BRISTOL CITY COUNCIL SET UP AN ONLINE POLL IS 2005, ASKING VOTERS WHETHER A PIECE APPEARING ON A COUNCIL-OWNED BUILDING SHOULD BE REMOVED, WITH 93% SAYING IT SHOULD BE KEPT. THE COUNCIL IN BRISTOL, WHERE THE ARTIST IS BELIEVED TO LIVE, IS PLANNING TO PERMANENTLY DEVOTE A SECTION OF ITS WEBSITE TO BANKSY 'GRAFFITI' LATER THIS YEAR, GIVING THE PUBLIC THE CHANCE TO VOTE BEFORE MURALS ON BUILDINGS, WALLS AND FENCES ARE REMOVED. RESIDENTS OF SUTTON HAVE UNTIL THE END OF THIS MONTH TO REGISTER THEIR VIEWS.