Say it with Banksy? Valentine’s gift catapults house to street art fame
Banksy, the elusive street artist from Bristol, is believed to be behind the artwork on the side of a house in the city’s Barton Hill district. Photograph: Ben Birchall/PA
Say it with Banksy? Valentine’s gift catapults house to street art fame
Artwork depicting girl firing bunch of flowers appears in street artist’s home city
Steven Morris and Ben Fisher
Thu 13 February 2020
A beguiling piece of street art depicting a girl firing a bunch of flowers into the air using a catapult has appeared on the side of a house in Bristol, the home city of Banksy.
The artist has not confirmed the work as his but it caused crowds to gather and prompted the owner of the building to worry about how to protect what may turn out to be a valuable work.
Residents in the Barton Hill area of the city awoke on Thursday to find the piece, which was taken by many to be a nod to Valentine’s Day.
Bristol Somali Community Association tweeted: “Today in Barton Hill, we woke up with this remarkable mural art painted on one of the houses of the area.
“We hope it’s Banksy’s work. Come and have a look yourself. Whoever painted, it’s worth admiring their creativity. Thank you.”
The Banksy expert John Brandler said he believed the piece may well be by the elusive artist.
“I would say it’s a Banksy,” he said. Brandler added that the piece had the sparsity and simplicity of the best Banksys. “I think it’s lovely.”
Banksy often confirms his artworks by posting images of them on Instagram or his website but there is sometimes a lag between a work appearing and his endorsement.
Kelly Woodruff, who co-owns the property on the corner of Marsh Lane and Avonvale Road, said: “It arrived on our wall overnight. I got tagged into Facebook with someone saying, is this your property?
“And we were like, ‘woah it is’. We are super excited, obviously, and it’s my dad’s birthday today so we are very excited to have such a brilliant birthday gift. We are Bristol born and bred, and it’s just so exciting.”
The house is split into three flats, and Woodruff and her father Edwin, 67, are working out how to protect it.
She said: “We really want to preserve it, but he’s given us a bit of a headache. First thing’s first is to maybe get some Perspex to preserve it so everyone can enjoy it and then try to get some professional advice. It has been a crazy day, with lots of people being able to come and enjoy it and we want people to be able to continue doing that.
“I just kept like squealing and I’ve not stopped smiling all day. It’s just so special. They are calling it the Valentine’s Day Banksy.
“There isn’t a handbook for these kind of scenarios - we’ve never been in this situation so any advice is welcome.”
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