Letter to the editor: The recent attempt to sell a Banksy mural taken from a wall owned by Haringey Council raises interesting issues about changing public perceptions towards urban art and how the finest examples can be protected.
In my ward, Blackheath, there is a great deal of affection for the white stags which have appeared and are the work of the “Lewisham Natureman”, regarded as Blackheath’s own Banksy.
These beautiful pieces of urban art brighten up our street scene.
The gem is the piece by the footpath in Cressingham Road, which shows a stag looking out onto the city at night (pictured).
The immediate danger for the work of the Lewisham Natureman is not, I hope, these pieces of work will be removed in the same way as in Haringey, but they are fast being damaged by other urban street artists.
One of the most popular of his works, a stag drinking from a tributary of the River Quaggy, has been spoilt by another graffiti artist’s tag.
Urban artwork is often controversial but, as with Bansky, the Lewisham Natureman’s murals command widespread affection and add colour and vibrancy to Lewisham’s street scene.
I would like Lewisham Council to afford these works equal protection to other forms of public art.
COUNCILLOR CHRIS MAINES, Lewisham Council
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