The piece addresses environmental problems caused by Port Talbot Steelworks. Residents and local authorities welcomed the new artwork
Street artist Banksy created his new work in Port Talbot in south Wales. He confirmed the author was really he by posting a video with the caption “season’s greetings” on his Instagram account, Artnet reports.
The owner of the garage where the image appeared told the BBC he was pleased to see the work: “It is good for the town and I just want to protect it, and it is here for everybody.”
The piece depicts a child enjoying ash from a burning bin mistaking it for snow. The work is a hint to the town’s industrial heritage – the UK’s largest steelworks and environmental problems it causes. For example, in July 2018, residents complaint about respiratory diseases and soot that covered the town.
Local councillor Nigel Thomas Hunt told the BBC the work was drawn in the right place in between the blast furnace, the M4 and the site where locals had bonfires for years: “You can look at the painting and see the furnaces in the background.”
A spokesperson for Neath Port Talbot Council said to the Independent: “The council is sending officers to liaise with the property holder to assist in protecting this artwork. However it must be remembered that the artwork is on private property.”
On the morning of December 19, workers installed a fence around the garage to protect the artwork.
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