Vandal Defaces Banksy Exhibition Window in Ljubljana

In the capital of Slovenia, Ljubljana, a vandal has defaced the graffiti on the window of a pop-up gallery showcasing the work of the world-renowned street artist Banksy. The curator of the exhibition referred to the graffiti artist responsible for the tagging that appeared on the window over the weekend as a "charlatan who wrote his name over Banksy's." This was reported by The Slovenia Times.

While graffiti artists around the world often destroy or paint over each other's work, this particular act was not one where the graffiti artist intended to convey a message or create a new piece of art, stated the gallery on March 11.

"If there's any hierarchy of graffiti quality, tagging is at the absolute bottom of that scale. Some artists elevate tagging to a higher level, even to calligraphy. However, unfortunately, we had a regular vandal visit us, leaving chaos that holds no artistic value or message," stated the exhibition curator.

The gallery did not disclose the perpetrator's identity but mentioned that he is known in Ljubljana's graffiti scene as "a hooligan incapable of creating good graffiti or even addressing important social or personal issues, as Banksy and many other graffiti artists do."

The exhibition "Banksy in Ljubljana," organized by the Deva Puri gallery, is open until April 21 in a former sports shoe store on Chopova Street in Ljubljana. It features over 100 works by Banksy and artists who have inspired or collaborated with him.

Soon, the gallery plans to open a new space within the exhibition dedicated to local graffiti artists. "This way, the wider local community can get acquainted with their work and learn to distinguish art from vandalism," the gallery noted.

Recall that the authorities of the British city of Dover decided to demolish the building housing a Banksy street art piece worth $1.2 million. The artist created this street art piece in 2017, a year after the UK voted in a referendum to leave the European Union. The mural on the amusement arcade depicted a worker removing one of the 12 yellow stars from the EU's blue flag.

According to a representative of Dover City Council, before the demolition, the municipal authorities decided that preserving Banksy's work would entail significant costs for local taxpayers.