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Banksy Love

Banksy Mobile Lovers £400,000 auction saves Bristol Youth centre

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By John McCarthy, Opinion Editor

August 27, 2014 | 2 min read

A Bristol youth club, on the verge of closure, will survive after receiving a donation from the sale of a Banksy painting found outside the premises on a chunk of wood - after the piece sold for £403,000 at auction earlier this week.

‘Mobile Lovers’, a painting showing two lovers staring intently into their mobiles, instead of each others' eyes, was found by the youth club’s owner Dennis Stinchcombe, MBE, in April.

It was then seized by police, at the behest of Bristol Council which disputed Stinchcombe’s ownership - claiming he stole it from a public space.

Street-artist Banksy settled the dispute telling the club owner in a letter “as far as I'm concerned you can have it”. As a result of the intervention, proceeds from the sale saved cash-strapped Broad Plain Boys' Club from closure.

Club owner Stinchcombe said: "Mobile Lovers has been a fantastic gift to us; without it, the club would definitely have shut within the next 12 months or so.

"The sale of the work has given us a cushion, to assist us in carrying on with our valuable work with the young people of Bristol."

Mary McCarthy of MM Contemporary Arts, handled the sale, she said: “The significance of this work, and of the original placing of the work by Banksy, is immense. It's a seminal piece, pure Banksy, made even more remarkable by its intent. It's a very generous gesture, and it's noteworthy that an artist risen from the street has given back so prominently to the street.

"It's an extraordinary gift, both in the financial benefit to Broad Plain, and in the reminder to us of the immeasurable value of youth clubs.”

McCarthy added: “The sale of this work will enable future Banksys and other young people, to find a safe and creative haven in Broad Plain. There are many kids, and clubs, out there, still needing support, and I hope this will prompt awareness of the good these clubs do.”

This comes after Banksy, earlier this year, reworked the iconic ‘girls with a red balloon’ image to reflect the Syrian civil war.

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