Banksy, Ozone's Angel

Used to love this beautiful peice of artwork – it was the first peice of Banksys work I found in London on a night out randomly looked upto see it when I was walking past…. but as usual to many doo gooders who dont understand the arts meaning have painted over it (in black may i add)…disgraceful.

I LOVE the fact that this Angel has been painted over already - isn't this the fate of every non-material, ethereal thing in a modern city? And in fact, of every thing that is designed to keep memories alive (which never happens, truly)?

Great art, great environmental interaction - and so very fitting that the only institutions remembering it are on the Internet.

Now been painted over in black. Nothing there.

You can see it (jun 2010) on google streetview though: http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=e...

I’ve been looking at this fabulous piece of art for a while, and wondering who did it. Well, according to Wickedpedia it’s a fairly recent Banksy! It’s a memorial piece, which explains its darker tone compared to his usual work.

Ozone was a graffiti artist who, along with another artist, Wants, was hit by a train and killed in January 2007. Of this piece Banksy has said:

‘The last time I hit this spot I painted a crap picture of two men in banana costumes waving hand guns. A few weeks later a writer called Ozone completely dogged it and then wrote ‘If it’s better next time I’ll leave it’ in the bottom corner. When we lost Ozone we lost a fearless graffiti writer and as it turns out a pretty perceptive art critic. Ozone - rest in peace.’

Well, I think this one’s a keeper. It shows a child angel in a bullet proof vest holding a skull. An image as thought provoking as any Banksy has produced, though not one that makes you laugh. It’s very nicely done too.

Unfortunately the location does make it difficult to see (sorry for the poor picture…). The options are to view from well back along the road (not great with a camera with poor zoom!), or from the top of one of the buses that pass by!