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Underground mystery as Banksy work regains its halo
17 Mar 2010An unidentified graffiti artist has restored part of a Banksy poster that was censored for use on the Tube.
Transport for London vetoed the halo dripping with paint on Banksy's artwork Forgive Us Our Trespassing because they feared it would act as an incitement to other graffiti artists.
So the team behind the poster, part of a programme of art on the Underground, reluctantly prepared a version without the offending drips.
But within days of it going up at London Bridge Tube last Thursday, the golden circle over the kneeling youngster's head was repainted.
Benjamin Moore from Art Below, which arranges the art on the Tube, said he did not know who had amended the work but there was a chance it was the artist himself.
Mr Moore said the protest had been filmed and uploaded onto Art Below's website. He added: “It could have been Banksy.
"We don't know. A few people who are street artists who have worked with Art Below knew about this poster and knew about the situation and about it being refused so there are several people who could have done it.”
The work was originally designed as a free poster to go with a promotional pack of flyers produced regularly for students by another organisation, Don't Panic.
It was Don't Panic who suggested it should go on the Tube.
Mr Moore said that when the group first started working with artists around five years ago they had approached Banksy but he had turned them down.
He said: “He told us there were too many rules and regulations on the Underground. And that's certainly true.”
A Transport for London spokesman said: “The artwork will be removed if it has been defaced.”
Angelic upstart: the censored artwork at London Bridge station before and, right, after the graffiti artist struck
