Art or vandalism?

Love it or loathe it, Bristol has made a name for itself as a street art mecca.

From Upfest and See No Evil, to works by some of the most renowned graffiti artists in hidden corners, in some parts of the city there is street art to behold at every turn.

However, the law is clear – it doesn’t matter if you are Bansky, Inkie or anyone else: illegal and unwanted graffiti is criminal damage.

Police have now announced a crackdown on street art in “blighted parts” of the city.

PC Stuart King, who is based at Trinity Road station, said while some graffiti has been glamorised in the media, on the whole graffiti and tagging do not promote the city in a positive light.

He said: “Police will be working with Bristol City Council to clean up the areas and track down people who are responsible because the thousands of graffiti tags which are on public buildings and private property can make people fear crime is more prevalent than it actually is.”

But graffiti artist Inkie said the police and council will need to understand how important tagging can be in the street art scene: “In some parts of Bristol like Stokes Croft, street art and tagging are part of its soul and, if it was cleaned up, people would not be happy.”

PC King, however, said it is not up to the police to define what is art and what should remain on the various walls.

“If the owner of a property makes a complaint about a tag or a large stencil art image the police would investigate it as criminal damage… regardless of who the suspect is.”

PC King said they are targeting the people responsible for prolific tagging and graffiti, who often work in “gangs which are committed to spraying or writing their tag in as many locations as possible”.

To an extent Inkie says he agrees with the police: “Bad tagging on beautiful buildings needs to be cleaned up, but you will never clear it up from everywhere.”

“People have to start somewhere, they need practise walls to get better as artists and, without a place to paint, they will do it somewhere,” he added.

However, even the street artists themselves are now targets for the taggers and vandalism.

Banksy’s work The Girl With the Pearl Earlobe on Spike Island was defaced less than 24 hours after it appeared on the harbourside. His murals on Park Street and Upper Maudlin Street have also been targeted.

“When pieces of street art are tagged by people who are not talented it looks scruffy and then there is pressure to clear all street art,” said Inkie.

PC King said they were taking a more pragmatic view: “The reality is that many of the victims of criminal damage caused by graffiti are general members of the public who may struggle to afford to repaint or remove the unwanted paint.”

“We are here to investigate complaints of criminal damage reported to us as we would with any crime reported.”

Inkie portrait:Harriet Turney, 1000 Words/Shutterstock