Bristol man claims to have paid Banksy £50 for a mural, then painted over it
Peter de Boer says that the secretive artist had helped create a "vivid" mural depicting cows, aliens and robots, as part of a youth art project
A Bristolian man has revealed that he hired Banksy for £50 to paint a mural, before painting over it.
In an interview with the BBC, Peter de Boer described hiring the elusive street artist, whose work now fetches upwards of £1 million at auction, to help run art classes at Lawrence Weston youth centre in Bristol in the late '90s.
He also shared several photos of Banksy's time at the youth centre, the artist's face has been obscured to protect his identity.
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de Boer, who was working as a senior youth worker for the area, said he was looking for local artists to inspire children in Bristol. A friend of his recommended him to reach out to a local graffiti artist who was "tagging the city".
He said he had "no idea who he was" at the time in an interview with BBC Radio Bristol.
For the first workshop, de Boer said the youth club paid the secretive artist "around £50," which "probably only covered the cost of the spray paints".
Banksy started working at the centre just as he was on the cusp of fame, helping the 11-16-year-olds who were part of the scheme to create "fun", "vivid" murals depicting cows, aliens and robots.
The BBC reported that these murals were painted over to be used by the children again. de Boer, now a senior practitioner with Bristol City Council, said that he "personally" painted over a Banksy and even threw out one of his stencils while clearing up.
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de Boer points out that Banksy's participation was all about "engaging young people" and said that he had "no regrets at all" about covering up the artwork.
Banksy reportedly came back to the club several times to create art alongside the children. "I don't think he's ever been in it for the money," de Bouer said. "It shows what a deep, kind and caring person he is."
"I'm very proud he came here," he added.
[Via: BBC]
Henrietta Taylor is Mixmag's Digital Intern, follow her on Twitter
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