Banksy’s much loved Mild Mild West mural in Stokes Croft has been vandalised with streaks of red paint. The popular piece of out-door art, voted Bristol’s favourite alternative landmark in 2007, had survived relatively untouched for about 10 years and is/was the last remaining of Banksy’s freehand pieces but was defaced on the morning of Monday 6th April 2009.

A group calling themselves ‘Appropriate Media’ have declared that they are behind the vandalism and seem to have carried it out in a protest against the gentrification of Stokes Croft and the popularisation of graffiti itself.

A statement on their website reads:
“Through this action, Appropriate Media asks ?What is the value of street art??. How much time and money will be spent to restore this urban ‘masterpiss’ by urban masterpisser, Banksy.

Come on, you only care about it cos its a Banksy and he sells his lazy polemics to Hollywood movie stars for big bucks.

Come on, you only care about it cos makes you feel edgy and urban to tour round the inner city in your 4×4, taking in the tired coffee table subversion that graffiti has become.

Graffiti artists are the copywriters for the capitalist created phenomenon of urban art.

Graffiti artists are the performing spray-can monkeys for gentrification.

We call for the appropriate and legitimate use of public and private property.”

…a somewhat loose, conflicting and confused argument.

Local people and businesses in the area, with the help of The People’s Republic Of Stokes Croft, have spent the morning helping to clean the paint from the picture and it might still be successfully restored.