LONDON 鈥� 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.
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 鈥済ross indecency鈥� in the 1890s.
The prison closed in 2013, and campaigners want it turned into an arts venue. Britain鈥檚 Ministry of Justice, which owns the building, is due to decide mid-March on its future.
In his Instagram video, Banksy is shown stealthily stenciling and spraying paint to create the artwork, titled 鈥淐reate Escape.鈥� The footage is juxtaposed with an episode of a traditional art instruction video called 鈥淭he Joy of Painting with Bob Ross.鈥�
The campaign to turn the former prison into an arts venue has won the backing of actors including Judi Dench, Stephen Fry and Kenneth Branagh.
A spokesman for Reading Borough Council said it was 鈥渢hrilled that Banksy appears to have thrown his support behind the council鈥檚 desire to transform the vacant Reading Gaol into a beacon of arts, heritage and culture with this piece of artwork he has aptly called 鈥楥reate Escape鈥�.鈥�
鈥淭he Council is pushing the Ministry of Justice, who own the site, to make suitable arrangements to protect the image,鈥� the authority said.
The Associated Press
