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Banksy officially unveils Valentine's Day mural in Bristol

Mysterious street artist is a big romantic at heart

Jacob Stolworthy
Friday 14 February 2020 04:47 EST
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Valentine's Day-inspired street art 'created by Banksy' appears in his home city of Bristol

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Enigmatic street artist Banksy has confirmed that he is responsible for a new Valentine’s Day mural that showed up in Bristol earlier this week.

The new artwork appeared on the side of a building in Barton Hill on Marsh Lane overnight on Thursday (13 February), with residents discovering it on the side of a house around 6.20am.

Numerous locals tweeted a photo of the Banksy, with one revealing the painting was not there at 10pm the previous night.

One eyewitness wrote on Twitter: “Me and my girlfriend were heading that way to the gym this morning at about 6:20 and there were people with scaffolding up. Thought it was odd and then we walked passed it again this morning!!”

The Bristol Somali Community Association hailed the mural as “remarkable”, adding: “We hope it’s Banksy’s work.”

This particular mural includes the depiction of a child – seemingly, in this instance, Cupid – which many noted is similar to previous works painted by the enigmatic artist.

In November, a Banksy artwork that was obscured by scaffolding in Notting Hill since 2008 was uncovered.

Just one month later, he created a modified Nativity scene at a hotel in Bethlehem.

The work, titled the “Scar of Bethlehem”, depicts Jesus’s manger in front of the separation barrier in Israel.

Following what seemed to be an attempt to destroy it, the damage caused a dent in the shape of a star, which looks over the scene.

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