Banksy wanted Clacton-on-Sea to confront racism instead it confronted him | Jonathan Jones

Tendring district council has destroyed a painting that eloquently challenged views on immigration was it too close to home?

Council removes Banksy artwork after complaints of racism

It must say something about the swirling currents of prejudice, fear and anger in modern Britain that even Banksy cannot predict their next bizarre lurch.

From Bristol to New York, this street artist has made his reputation by wittily mocking power and money. In Manhattan he satirised McDonalds (not, perhaps his most original target) and in Cheltenham, near GCHQ, he painted spies snooping on a phone box. Usually people love him for it. The political content of Banksys art is generally so accepted and enjoyed that it has become tame. Far from being challenged, people gush at the prices it fetches.

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