They aren’t going out without a fight.
The mural of rapper Stormzy in Smithfield, Dublin has been removed after Dublin City Council said the proper planning permission was not sought.
Painted by the art collective SUBSET back in March 2017, they were told in November that the work would have to be removed within four weeks. However, it would be fair to say that they’ve not been willing to stand down without a bit of a fight.
Following the instructions, they immediately inserted the image of a Council worker painting over a part of it.
The Council Strikes Again…
–#dublincity #culture #stormzy@Stormzy1 pic.twitter.com/jwgnCmblkW— SUBSET (@SubsetDublin) November 23, 2017
Next, they created a small mural around the corner from Andrew’s Lane in the city centre, with an image of Donald Trump wearing a cap that read ‘MAKE DUBLIN GREY AGAIN’.
“When you build a wall, it’s gotta be grey.” – @realDonaldTrump #dublincity #culture #itsgonnabehuge pic.twitter.com/KQeSMRSenB
— SUBSET (@SubsetDublin) November 24, 2017
Now, they have done one up on the Council again by replacing the mural with a small plaque, ironically titled ‘Grey Wall’.
Designed to resemble a descriptive plaque in a gallery or museum, it calls the painted-over wall “a standout piece in Dublin City Council’s continuing series on the transience and meaningless of art.”
Great to see @DubCityCouncil get the credit where the credit is most definitely due. Congrats. #Dublincity #dublincitycouncil #Stormzy #GreyWall #Bureaucracy #Smithfield (@Stormzy1 @SubsetDublin) pic.twitter.com/zTvQDgjFmC
— Ste Rogers (@sterogers76) December 21, 2017
The outcome might have been disappointing, but at least SUBSET managed to get this little jab in at the very end.
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