Stealing art is like stealing history, that is why it is no wonder that the residents of Haringey, borough located in northern London, were angered when a mural made by renowned street artist Banksy disappeared.
The stenciled work titled ‘Slave Labor’ depicts a downtrodden boy kneeling at a sewing machine with Union Jack bunting. It was painted on a building occupied by Poundland Stores in 2012 during Queen Elizabeth II’s Diamond Jubilee.
But just like how it mysteriously appeared on the wall of Poundland Stores on Whymark Avenue it also mysteriously disappeared without anyone noticing that it was being taken out of the wall it was stenciled on.
What made the issue more complicated is that days after the mural was taken it was found being auctioned in an auction house in Miami. It has received offers of $500,000 to $700,000.
The Haringey Borough Council sent an open letter to Frederic Thut informing him that the artwork was stolen from their community and requesting that it be returned to the borough. The residents also sent e-mails and letters to Thut asking for him to do the same thing.
However, the owner of Fine Art Auctions Miami said that the sale of the mural is legitimate. Thut said: “It’s been said that the artwork was stolen, and that’s just not true. We take a lot of care with our consignors: who they are, what they do, and if there’s any illegality we will not touch it.”
Because Thut is adamant in his claim that the artwork was acquired legally, a debate on who really owns the artwork arose. The residents believe that the community owns it but legal opinion holds that whoever owns the wall that Banksy used as canvass owns the artwork. Wood Green Investments, the company whom Poundland leases its space from has not made any comment regarding the issue.
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