A Banksy mural in north London was dismantled shortly after its unveiling, covered in plastic sheeting and surrounded by wooden planks.
The work is a stencil of a life-sized woman holding a pressure washer next to green paint in the shape of a tree leaf. The mural is on the wall of a residential building, next to a cherry tree whose branches were pruned using a method called pollarding, which can appear extreme.
The British street artist uploaded photos of the mural to his popular Instagram page (12.3 million followers) on March 18, confirming that the work was real. A few days later, it was wiped out with white paint.
The local borough authority, Islington Council, said BBC News that the plastic sheets and wooden boards were installed by the owner of the apartment building, not by the municipality.
A council spokesman also said it was installing a type of construction barrier called a wall with plastic panels around the site to “provide clear views” of the mural.
“We’ve had a lot of concerns from our residents about the disruption to the number of visitors to the artwork, which is outside their homes,” the spokesman said. BBC, who first broke the news. “We will monitor and review the site arrangements and continue to explore future solutions with the building owner so that people can enjoy the artwork.”
