A graffiti drawn by the artist on the wall of a building is deteriorating. The Italian government wants to restore it but the world of street art is opposed.
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Italy is used to debates on the restoration of works of art, but the one that has taken place in recent days is a bit unusual. Can we restore an illegal work that is damaged? “Yes“, responds the government, which arouses controversy. The scene of the conflict: Venice. The main character: a work by the British Banksy.
The work was named, “Migrant Child“, “the migrant child“. It is a small gray silhouette, brandishing a torch in the style of the Statue of Liberty. Pink smoke comes out of it. Banksy graphed this composition on an 18th century building, in 2019. Since then, the waves and the salt of Venice have degraded it.
Graphic designers defend transience
Restore it or not? The street art world could be expected to defend the restoration. This is not the case at all. “We do not touch a street work, it is by nature ephemeral and only the artist can rework it.r”, they argue. But the Under-Secretary of State for Culture, Vittorio Sgarbi, a great lover of controversy, decided in favor of rehabilitation. The migrant child, he believes “enriches the history of the building it decorates”.
The final word in the story should go to the artist, Banksy, but as usual, he is remaining discreet and has not yet come forward. VSThat said, it wouldn’t be the first time that he highlights the ephemeral and non-mercantile nature of his works. In 2018, one of his works self-destructed, just after being sold at auction for more than a million euros at Sotheby’s in London.