Neither seen nor known.
With a discretion which is perhaps as much a tribute to Banksy as a shady prudence, two works of the most famous of the anonymous artists have been "replayed" in New Orleans under the guise of the Christmas holidays.
After having pierced the plexiglass plates placed in front of the sections of the walls enhanced with the stencils attributed to Banksy, the two works were partly covered with red graffiti branded with the name of King Robbo, another street artist, who died in 2014. His rivalry notorious with Banksy had been the subject of a documentary broadcast in 2011 on British television.
To read also: Walled Off, Banksy's hotel in Bethlehem, the expert opinion of
Figaro
Retagged one after the other on December 24 and then on December 25, the works in question -
Umbrella Girl
and
The Gray Ghost
- were produced by Banksy in 2008, a handful of years after the passage of Hurricane Katrina which had devastated the city three years ago.
The artist had disseminated a series of fifteen stencils in New Orleans, in tribute to the hardships experienced by the inhabitants in 2005.
Banksy's mural,
Umbrella Girl
, was vandalized in New Orleans on Christmas Day.
Carlos fundora
"
There are people who just don't like Banksy, and others who see the destruction of his job as a way to make a name for themselves,
"
a local guide who specializes in urban heritage
told The
New York Post.
New Orleans.
"
The people of New Orleans have lost a lot this year due to the pandemic, and this public work of art is a source of comfort and joy for many of them
."
The red graffiti have since been erased.
A common practice
This is not the first time that Banksy's works have been repainted, the practice of going over a previous graffiti being constitutive of the nature, by essence ephemeral, of street art.
Although an implicit code of good conduct is supposed to govern the recovery of a work, more or less provocative abuses remain relatively frequent as well as very badly perceived in the community.
One of the most recognized figures of urban art despite the claimed and maintained mystery of his identity, Banksy is just as much for the deep commitment he has shown throughout his career as for the clearly identifiable character. of his works sometimes satirical, sometimes biting, and just as often comical.
The self-destruction as spectacular as it was skillfully orchestrated, last year, of one of his works in full auction had particularly hit the headlines in addition to fueling criticism, by the artist, of the absurdities of the art market. .