Mancunians have been left outraged after the iconic Northern Quarter mural of musician Ian Curtis was painted over on Tuesday (August 16). The wall painting, on Port Street in the city centre, depicted a black and white portrait painting of the Stretford Joy Division frontman and was first unveiled back in 2020.
However, less than two years on, workmen were spotted at the site painting over it on Tuesday, seeming to replace it with an advert announcing a new release by Aitch, a rapper also from Manchester.
It was in October 2020 that the stunning monochrome image of Curtis was revealed by street artist Akse. The artwork was created to mark the start of the Manchester music and wellbeing festival Headstock, and was based on a photo of him performing in Brussels in 1979, taken by acclaimed Belgian photographer Philippe Carly.
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Pictures taken of the workmen on a scissor lift show the name 'Aitch' being painted on the wall in white. It is understood it is being replaced by an advert for the rapper's anticipated upcoming album.
Sharing outrage on Twitter, also shared by the original street artist Aske, Headstock Festival said: "Absolutely gutted to see our Ian Curtis mural painted over. Such a shame when @AmazonMusicUK had pretty much any other wall in Manchester to choose from. Especially when it was created by@Akse_P19 to raise mental health awareness in support of @GiveUsAShout"
@MANCHESTERMUS10 wrote: "Absolutely disgusted to hear the @akse_P19 Ian Curtis mural in Manchester has been painted over. It isn’t important what has replaced it but simply that it has been replaced. This should have been a tribute to a legend for as long as that building remained. Angry ain’t close."
@gshawisme added: "Who on Earth thought this was a good idea? The Ian Curtis mural was stunning piece of art. The ad could’ve gone anywhere."
And @WGJourno tweeted: "Surely this needs to be reinstated somewhere. The iconity of Ian Curtis' music and lyricism outweighs the importance and influence of some daft rapper."
Councillor and city centre spokesperson Pat Karney spoke to the Manchester Evening News and said: "People will have wanted this mural to stay there for a few more years, and my view is that the artwork should have stayed there too. If it is being replaced by an advert, they can be displayed anywhere around the city.
"Of course, we are proud of Aitch as another artist from Manchester who is successful, but many people will be upset by this. Personally, I felt it was such a special piece of artwork. But at the same time, nothing is permanent and musical culture is always changing."
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