Oh, the irony.
Graffiti icon Banksy has created a new piece in London – a tribute to the ubiquitous tagger and recently criminal damage-convicted, Tox. 
At Tox’s trial on June 6th, prosecutor Hugo Lodge told the jury: “He is no Banksy. He doesn’t have the artistic skills”, and he was subsequently found guilty on seven counts.
But while Tox has been dismissed by the police and legal establishment as a vandal, Banksy’s work – which has sold for hundreds of thousands of pounds – is considered artistic and culturally significant.
So much so, that tonight, just a day after the piece appeared on Jeffrey’s Street in Tox’s hometown of Camden, three workmen were busy fitting the frame for a perspex encasement to protect it from damage or theft.
The image features a young boy, whose identity is concealed with a black bar over his eyes, creating the word ‘Tox’ with a bubble wand.
It is quintessentially Banksy, while giving a nod to the practice of tagging through its bubble writing-style.
Tox – real name Daniel Halpin, 26-years-old – was arrested and remanded at the beginning of the year as part of the British Transport Police’s ‘Operation Misfit’ to crack down on graffiti, and remains in custody awaiting sentencing on July 1st.
He has been acclaimed the ‘King of Taggers’ by his peers for his dedication to spraying his tag on more, and riskier, places than any other in the UK.
The Camden piece is a fitting display of solidarity and support from Banksy; and a raised middle finger to the authorities.
Pictures by Amy Freeborn
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