Owner and art collector John Brandler said the artwork was to be removed from a Port Talbot showroom on Tuesday and temporarily placed in a secure location. It is thus protected against vandalism, Brandler justified the step. It will later be made available to the public.
The graffiti, titled Season’s Greetings, appeared on a garage wall in the Welsh industrial city in 2018. It shows a little boy in winter clothes catching what appears to be snowflakes with his tongue – but around the corner a burning dustbin can be seen, revealing the snow to be ash particles.
Welsh are angry
The garage owner had sold the work to Brandler. Local and regional politicians had advocated staying in Wales permanently, but Brandler decided differently.
Just over a month ago, a 42-year-old man was given a 14-month suspended sentence for attempting to destroy the artwork out of anger at the decision.
However, the judge had shown some understanding of the man’s motives. “It may well be that Banksy had no intention of the painting ever leaving Port Talbot,” the judge said, according to a BBC report. He is also aware that the decision to remove it has caused resentment. Nevertheless, he described the man’s reaction to destroying the work as “bizarre”.
Local politicians had expressed dissatisfaction with Brandler’s decision. Council leader Ted Latham complained last year that it would have cost £100,000 a year to borrow the work and open it to the public in the city. According to reports, it will be exhibited in Peterborough in the east of England.