Banksy confirms Reading Gaol graffiti
Council pushing to protect Create Escape
Banksy has confirmed that a painting, of an inmate escaping over a wall at the former Reading prison that once incarcerated playwright Oscar Wilde, is his work.
The artwork on the jail's red brick wall in Forbury Road, shows a man escaping using a rope of knotted paper coming from a typewriter. The work appeared overnight between Sunday, February 28, and Monday, March 1.
The famously anonymous street artist posted a video spoof of US TV tutorial artist Bob Ross on his Instagram page and website yesterday (Thursday) to confirm he was behind the graffiti. In the footage, Banksy is seen making the work entitled Create Escape on the outside wall of Reading Prison at night.
Wilde spent two punishing years in Reading Gaol from 1895-97, where he wrote De Profundis, a long and harrowing love letter to Lord Alfred Douglas on spirituality and faith. He was a broken man and after his release, he immortalised the prison in The Ballad Of Reading Gaol, his last work.
It's thought that Banksy’s installation may be in support of Reading Borough Council’s bid to convert the prison into an arts and heritage site - a move that has already been backed by a number of celebrities.
A council spokesman said: “We are thrilled that Banksy appears to have thrown his support behind the Council’s desire to transform the vacant Reading Gaol into a beacon of arts, heritage and culture with this piece of artwork he has aptly called ‘Create Escape’. The Council is pushing the Ministry of Justice, who own the site, to make suitable arrangements to protect the image.”
Melvin Benn, the chairman of Theatre and Arts Reading (TAR), who handed over their bid brochure to Reading Borough Council following news that the council would bid for the prison - a bid that failed but now they have a period of exclusivity till mid March to put in another - said before Banksy’s confirmation: “It’s a great piece of art on the outside of the Gaol we are all observing. Is it a Banksy? Is the person climbing out as the art community is desperately trying to get in now. We hope the council is successful in their bid and realises the dreams of the arts and cultural groups in the town and gets them in legitimately.”
