Skip to content

Banksy's Lowestoft mural replicated in 'vending machine'

Guy Campbell/BBC Joe Thompson with his version of the Banksy muralGuy Campbell/BBC
Joe Thompson's design replicates Banksy's original mural and places it within a vending machine

A graphic designer has recreated a Banksy artwork on the outside of his home after the original mural was removed and sold.

The Banksy picture of a little girl with a crowbar appeared on a wall in Lowestoft, Suffolk, in August 2021.

American auctioneers said it had been sold privately for an undisclosed sum after it was taken down in November.

Joe Thompson has replicated the image within a "Banksy vending machine" to start a debate about the issue.

He said: "Like everyone else I felt a real pride that he'd come to Lowestoft and the surrounding area and done that (painted his artwork) because Lowestoft needs a bit of a boost.

"So obviously we all felt a bit of a kick in the teeth when we thought someone had just said 'that's worth a lot of money, I'll just dig it out of a wall and send it abroad'.

"Part of me thought, well, if that's what they want, maybe we need a vending machine where they can just press a few buttons and Banksys can just keep coming out."

Andrew Turner/BBC Lowestoft street art by BanksyAndrew Turner/BBC
Banksy's mural in Lowestoft depicted a child next to a dug-up pavement
Crispin Hook Banksy being removed from the side of an empty shop in LowestoftCrispin Hook
It was removed from the side of the vacant shop to be sold

Banksy's mural on London Road North was originally part of a larger artwork which featured an actual sand castle and lifted paving slab at a former electrical shop.

It was one of 10 pieces created in Norfolk and Suffolk by the elusive street artist over the summer as part of a spree dubbed Banksy's Great British Spraycation.

presentational grey line

Find BBC News: East of England on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. If you have a story suggestion email [email protected]