A new Banksy mural which appeared at Reading Prison earlier this month has been defaced with the name of the street art icon’s former rival.
The image of a prisoner mounting an audacious bid for freedom first appeared on the side of the closed prison on March 1 and featured a typewriter at the bottom of the mural.
However, the mural has now been painted over and the words ‘Team Robbo’ have been sprayed underneath it.
Robbo was one of Banksy’s leading rivals in the street art world, and was locked in a fierce rivalry with him before his death in 2014.
Their feud dates back to 2009, when Banksy painted over one of Robbo’s tags on Camden’s Regents Canal – which is thought to have dated back to 1985.
According to the BBC, a man has since attempted to remove the most recent graffiti this morning (March 16).
Banksy had previously confirmed he was behind the artwork in a video featuring late American artist Bob Ross.
Last week, Kate Winslet also backed calls for the prison to become an arts hub following its closure in 2013.
Winslet, who was born in Reading, spoke to the BBC about the pride she felt at seeing the new artwork, and promised to perform on the opening night if the prison is turned into a new arts venue as reported.
“I just felt incredibly excited for Reading to have a Banksy,” she said. “If Reading had a legacy space like that, to hand on to generation after generation, it could really be as valuable as some of those central London theatres.”
The post Name of Banksy’s late rival sprayed on Reading Prison mural appeared first on NME.
