A new Banksy mural in North London has been defaced three days after it was first revealed in Finsbury Park.
Two streaks of white paint appeared on the green artwork on Hornsey Road in Finsbury Park on Wednesday morning.
The work first appeared on a residential building in north London on Sunday before the anonymous street artist confirmed it was his in an Instagram post on Monday.
The art piece features swathes of green behind a pared back tree to give the appearance of leaves, with a stencil of a person holding a pressure hose next to it.
Someone’s vandalised the Banksy overnight. Gutted. Why can’t people let a community be happy without trying to ruin it. pic.twitter.com/EuY0nfh5tT
— Amy (@psychologyamyb) March 20, 2024
Amy, who shares a wall with the new Banksy artwork, spotted the white paint splattered on the mural and on the fence protecting it when she got up to go to the gym on Wednesday morning.
The resident, who only gave her first name, said the vandalism looked like a “drive by incident”.
She told the Standard: “It’s a real mess, frustrating something hasn’t been able to be organised to protect it sooner.
“It was done from the other side of the fence as the paint has hit the fence and the floor in front of it.”
The Hornsey Road resident added that the Banksy had been a “total surprise” and that she did not hear anything when the artwork was put up or vandalised.
She continued: “My boyfriend and I were asleep on the other side of the wall and heard nothing.”
James Roebuck, who lives in the block of flats that the artwork was painted on, said he saw the streaks of white paint when he went to the gym at around 5.50am.
He told the Standard: “The artwork only looks nice at a distance anyway. Close up its messy.
“Now there’s white paint defacing it and a load of fencing around it it just looks ruined.”
Patrick Volcker, 47, flew from Germany to see the mural in person but was disappointed that the artwork had already been defaced.
He said: "I was too late because it was ruined last night. It's sad it happened so fast, but it's okay because Banksy's art pieces are always in a temporary style."
"It's not really ruined, let's just say 'covered'," he added.
Gil Ben-ari, 80, travelled from Coulsdon, south London, to see the artwork and was also saddened that it had been defaced so soon.
When asked about the addition of the white paint, Mr Ben-ari said: "There's only one way to describe it: wanton vandalism."
Islington Council said it had arranged "temporary measures" including installing fencing and regular visits from Park Patrol officers to manage crowds and help protect the artwork.
Despite the new white paint, visitors have continued to flock to see the mural, with viewers crowding the pavement and climbing on nearby walls to take photographs and selfies with the piece.
Claire Carruthers, 31, Edinburgh, seized the opportunity to see artwork in person while on holiday in London and described the white paint as "definitely unnecessary" but that it did not detract from the message behind the piece.
Ms Carruthers said: "It's a piece of artwork symbolising that we need greenery in our life, we need nature and we need to do more to save our planet."
Will Swann, 72, travelled more than 50 miles from Buckinghamshire to see the mural and agreed that while the white paint was "regrettable", it did not ruin the artwork.
Mr Swann said: "I don't think it ruins it at all. You can have exactly the same conversations about it and it hasn't deterred all these people from coming along.
"It's no more ruined it than the fence around it. It's the equivalent of the plate glass in front of the Mona Lisa."
Banksy’s last confirmed work was in December, when he painted military drones on a stop sign in Peckham.That work removed less than an hour after it was confirmed to be genuine on the artist’s social media, with witnesses reporting it was taken down by a man with bolt cutters.
Two men were later arrested on suspicion of theft and criminal damage.
