People are speculating Banksy has returned to the scene of one of his artworks on the eve of its removal.
The Bristol artist's work Season's Greetings appeared on the outside of a steelworker's private garage in Taibach, Port Talbot, in December 2018 and eventually had to be fenced off.
This week, a mystery car pulled up close to where Season’s Greetings was housed in Ty’r Orsaf in Port Talbot on Monday, February 7 and those inside the vehicle jumped out and projected words and images onto a nearby wall, reports Wales Online.
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The message projected onto the building spelled out in blue letters read “Season’s Greetings belongs to Port Talbot", followed by sparkling pink flakes and the shape of what appeared to be an eagle.
A resident who filmed the footage said: “I saw a car pull up and they projected the words on the wall. We think Banksy may have returned.”
On Tuesday, February 8, the artwork was moved out of Port Talbot to an undisclosed location in England after attempts to damage the artwork.
A man tried to smash his way through to the artwork after hearing the plans to move it last November.
Egg Group helped to move the Banksy, within a protective shell in one piece to a temporary storage facility while the future of the street art is determined.
The company's executive chairman, John Frankiewicz, said: “As a design and build company with a fresh approach, Egg Group identifies with Banksy’s mischief and the disruptive impact of his artwork; making the art sector more engaging and better as a result.
“The writing was on the wall for this important piece of art, so we stepped in with a creative solution and designed a protective eggshell enabling Banksy’s Season’s Greetings to be returned to the public safely.”
He said the Banksy would face a long journey along the M4 but did not name its final destination.
The work by the renowned street artist depicts a child dressed for the winter, with his arms outstretched and his tongue sticking out, appearing to catch snowflakes on one wall.
On the other side of the wall, the apparent snowflakes are masked as flakes from ash and smoke from a fire in a skip.
It quickly became a tourist hotspot after it first appeared on the wall of Port Talbot steelworker Ian Lewis's garage before Christmas 2018.
It was later purchased for an undisclosed six-figure sum by collector John Brandler and moved to the window of an empty shop unit in Port Talbot town centre, Ty'r Orsaf in Station Road, where some residents argued it was "imprisoned" and difficult to see.
Many people were still sad to see it leave the town this week. Neighbour Robert Green, 37, said: “It’s the only thing that made Port Talbot and gave a statement about Port Talbot and now it's taken away.”
Mr Brandler said, however, he was given no option but to move it away after being asked to do so by the local authority.
He said: “I am sad it’s finally come to this. It should have been a centrepiece for a street art museum that would have brought 150,000 people into the town.
"They had it in Port Talbot for three years and did nothing - why would you turn down a pot of gold? If you stopped someone in Adelaide and Quebec they would travel to see Banksy.
“We’re moving it to preserve it for future generations, where it can be seen and enjoyed, but not vandalised.”
Councillor Ted Latham, leader of Neath Port Talbot Council, said: “When the council made enquiries as to plans for the piece - given the temporary arrangement to house it at Pobl’s Ty’r Orsaf building was due to end in January - the council was informed it would be moved to Peterborough where an exhibition of street art was planned.
“Discussions were held on future arrangements and the potential for the work to remain in Port Talbot, but the council was informed that it would have to meet the costs of its removal and installation into a new venue, to continue to cover the insurance and to pay a fee in the region of £100,000 per year for the loan of the work.
“It has been estimated the cost of removal and relocation to another venue (even without insurance to cover the operation to move it) of Season’s Greetings would be around £50,000.”
The Banksy Preservation Society is hoping to raise funds to buy Season’s Greetings and install it in a public space, bringing the artwork back to Wales.
Lucy Cowley, of the Banksy Preservation Society, said: “We passionately believe we want to keep this work in the public domain. We would like to raise the funds to buy the work and install it in public view."
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