Pub mural is replaced hours after being destroyed... but its days may be numbered (again)

Controversy: Nick Tyrie and "Mr OneTeas" with the restored mural... which the council says will likely be removed a second time
Nick Tyrie
Ramzy Alwakeel30 October 2015

A pub boss whose beloved mural was erased by the council has defiantly had it repainted – but the artwork is at risk of being removed a second time as it still has no planning permission.

Nick Tyrie, 41, awoke on Thursday to find the picture on the side of The New Inn, St John’s Wood, had been covered with white paint overnight.

Westminster Council said the painting had attracted a complaint, and that Mr Tyrie had not sought planning permission to have it done.

The controversial mural depicted a bizarre hybrid of Snow White and Ronald McDonald and had been created by “up-and-coming” street artist Mr OneTeas.

On Friday Mr Tyrie secured the services of Mr OneTeas to replace it, and the artist spent four hours reconstructing the painting, with a few modifications.

The “model” has turned her face the other way and the picture is accompanied by a biblical quote that reads: “If someone slaps you on one cheek, turn to them the other also.”

Mr Tyrie described the quotation as an “up yours” to Westminster and insisted there was nothing unlawful about the painting. But the council insisted any public art or advertising needed planning permission and said Mr Tyrie still did not have any.

“They have no right to lay a finger on it,” he said.

“I’m always trying to do things to make the area nicer and it’s a slap in the face. I’m putting in more cameras and I’ll be suing them twice if they do it again.

Complaint: The work-in-progress replacement mural Nick Tyrie
Nick Tyrie

“They haven’t told me they had any complaints, and they should have written to me.

“At 41, I imagine I’ve paid well over a million pounds in taxes and now I’m looking to get some of it back in compensation.”

Artist Mr OneTeas today said the back-and-forth with the town hall was “like a game”.

The Frenchman, who estimates he has painted about 100 so-called “Wack Donald’s” murals since 2011, told the Standard: “It’s like if you decide to have your car blue, and someone else comes along and paints it white.

“It’s like your girlfriend decides to have a nose job so she has a nice nose, and then someone comes and smashes her in the face.”

But he insisted: “I’m a graffiti artist so I’m really used to being painted over by the city. People have different opinions of what you’re doing – some people love it, some people don’t love it.

“The funny thing is sometimes you have the owner of the wall who wants to sue you because you’ve been painting on his wall. But the owner of the wall was OK with the mural, and someone came at night to paint over it.”

Westminster Council said yesterday it was not clear how the mural came to be painted over without Mr Tyrie first being contacted.

“We are looking in to details and circumstances of this specific incident,” said a spokesman, “but a complaint was made to the council and the appropriate action taken.

“In general, the council will take action, even if the graffiti is on private land as any artwork requires planning permission or advertising consent.”

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