Banksy mural, Valentine’s Day Mascara, is back in Margate and will be unveiled at The WonderWorks at Hornby today {December 13}.
The mural first appeared on a property in Margate’s Park Place on February 13 last year. The piece was then removed the following month, overseen by Red Eight Gallery which was called in by the artist owners of the property to deal with preservation and sale of the work.
It was taken to Dreamland and unveiled in June 2023, with an announcement that August that the park would be the permanent home of the artwork following a decision to sell it by issuing shares.
Showpiece announced a ‘fractional ownership’ plan for the piece, which has been valued at £6 million, with 27,000 shares costing £120 each.
In September 2023 the piece, which weighs some 3.8 tonnes, was on the move to be shown as one of the 110 works in the Art Of Banksy exhibition at Regent Street.
At that time Dreamland bosses said: “We anticipate that the artwork will return to Margate to take up its place in Dreamland again in early 2024.”
However, the art – a comment on domestic violence which shows a woman with a swollen shut eye and missing tooth with a man’s legs poking out from a chest freezer, alongside an upturned chair – then went on show at the Yamaha store in London in early 2024 and remained there until October when it again moved to the new Yield Gallery venue in Eastcastle Street, London.
Discussions were taking place with a potential buyer for the piece and it is understood talks are continuing but, in the meantime, it has returned to Margate and will be available for people to view.
There is also a ‘mini’ Bansky on show that has been created and installed next to the Scalextric race track at The WonderWorks.
Olly Raeburn, CEO of Hornby Hobbies, said: “Banksy’s ‘Valentine’s Day Mascara’ has a special place in Margate’s heart, and we’re honoured to provide a new home for it at The WonderWorks. This move underscores Hornby’s commitment to the Margate community, which has supported us for seven decades, as well as our dedication to the world of collecting—a world that values treasured items and their stories.”
As a leading name in the hobby industry with brands like Hornby, Airfix, Scalextric, and Pocher, Hornby Hobbies says it understands the power of hobbies to bring people together across generations.
Visitors can view the artwork for free, from 13 December. Voluntary donations to support Oasis Domestic Abuse Services will be welcomed.
The installation may also have its Peroni beer bottle back after a package containing the dirty bottle was sent to Yield gallery.
The WonderWorks is open every day 10am to 4pm.
The Emperor’s new clothes. Graffiti snobbery,at its finest,in the land of the poor.
no one is going to get in a taxi from Margate after visiting the turner to go see the Banksy in the wonderworks absolutely bonkers decision. in a badly lit up canteen hilarious. Just what the art crowd want a Hornby hobbies train and some airfix lol
Whilst the Hornby site may not be ideal – it is currently a better option than Dreamland.
Dreamland is only open during school holidays.
The Turner is at least an art gallery and perhaps would have been a more obvious choice to locate a piece of art in the first instance ?
Why isn’t this at Dreamland where it was supposed to be displayed?
Although It should never have been moved in the first place. Its message is totally lost out of context in the Hornsby centre and for that matter in Dreamland.
Yep, should have been left where it was even if that meant it didn’t last long – Banksy’s works need to lose their value by staying put until they’re defaced / painted over or whatever. That’s street art.
Carina- I completely agree with you. Banksy’s graffiti/street art should stay where he painted it and be visible in public to anyone who walks past the wall it’s on. Its integrity as street art with a particular meaning disappears when it’s moved to somewhere else- an indoor “somewhere else”- and becomes involved with the commercial side of art.
It should be white-washed over, the same as other graffiti. The fact that a small fortune has been spent on this while pensioners freeze makes it all the more obscene.
It’s still missing the frying pan that was used in the fight
Correction: on closer inspection it appears to be there now!
Hope the cleaners don’t chuck it out for the binmen by mistake.
Why couldn’t Margate artist Tracey Emin do a stunt like this? Filthy beds & vulgar drawings and language suits her better, and that’s enough to get an award from TDC.
There is money in crap art, especially when it attracts endless funds from outside influences. Meanwhile, ordinary people are scratching about trying to stay warm and keep their heads above the water.
“There is money in crap art”
The fact its given such a visceral reaction in you, is proof it is art.
“Meanwhile, ordinary people are scratching about trying to stay warm and keep their heads above the water.”
Artists are ordinary people too, with ordinary lives. They all eat, poo and sleep the exact same way we do. it is you that is putting them on a pedestal here.
The difference is, they see their poo as art.
Gilbert and George made a lot of money out of their art using …..
Its all bananas! Can anyone explain why some idiot paid nearly £5 million for a banana stuck to a wall, then ate it?