LONDON: Banksy appears to have thrown his support behind a campaign to turn a former prison in the English town of Reading into an arts venue, a town spokesman said on Thursday, after the street artist confirmed that artwork that appeared on a red brick wall of the prison was of his making.
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The elusive artist confirmed the picture was his when he posted a video of him creating it on his Instagram account. The monochrome picture shows a man escaping using a rope made of paper from a typewriter. It appeared Monday outside Reading Prison, famous as the location where writer Oscar Wilde served two years for “gross indecency” in the 1890s.
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The prison closed in 2013, and campaigners want it turned into an arts venue. Britain’s Ministry of Justice, which owns the building, is due to decide mid-March on its future.
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In his Instagram video, Banksy is shown stealthily stenciling and spraying paint to create the artwork, titled ‘Create Escape.’ The footage is juxtaposed with an episode of a traditional art instruction video called ‘The Joy of Painting with Bob Ross.’
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The campaign to turn the former prison into an arts venue has won the backing of actors including Judi Dench (pictured), Stephen Fry and Kenneth Branagh.
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A spokesman for Reading Borough Council said it was “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’.”
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“The Council is pushing the Ministry of Justice, who own the site, to make suitable arrangements to protect the image,” the authority said.
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