DATE: 14 AUG 2012


A man has gone on trial for stealing a well documented mural by the graffiti artist Banksy. It was stolen from a hotel wall and placed for sale on eBay with an opening bid of £17,000, a court was told. The outdoor wall art, known as Sperm Alarm was allegedly offered by Leon Lawrence, 32, after it had been removed using an angle grinder, from a wall outside the Hesperia Hotel a four-star establishment in central London.

Mr Lawrence apparently framed the piece, which depicts 15 sperm swarming around a red sprinkler alarm preparing to impregnate it. He put it on sale on eBay last winter using his eBay account in an attempt to sell the item under his user name LeonLeon, between February 9 and April 4 2011, Southwark Crown Court was told on Monday.

Staff from the hotel in Victoria alerted the police when they saw the artwork listed for sale online. Edward Franklin the prosecutor, explained to the court that staff had noticed the artwork, as soon as it appeared on a wall outside the Hesperia. 'You may have heard of the artist Banksy. He is a graffiti artist and he appears to have graffitied a panel of wall belonging to the Hesperia Hotel, by Victoria station,' he said. 'He did not manage to sell the item,' he added.
The Legendary UK graffiti artist Banksy's work typically includes satirical social and political commentary, and ranges from murals to sculpture and installation, often playing with the contextual aspects of the work. The artist's first solo show was held in 2002 at Los Angeles' 33 1/3 Gallery, and in 2003 he was commissioned to design to cover of Blur's ThinkTank. Today, Banksy's work appears internationally; most notably, he painted nine sardonic images on the Palestinian side of the West Bank barrier. In Summer 2009, Banksy took over the Bristol Museum and Art Gallery with an exhibition attracting over 300,000 visitors and hour-long queues all the way down the road. Most recently the artist has experimented with film, achieving an Oscar nomination for his documentary Exit Through The Gift Shop. Consistently controversial, Banksy is described by some as genius and others as a vandal. Regardless of whether he is inspiring admiration or provoking outrage, his name is one that is well-known around the world. His early career, between 1990 and 1994, was that of a traditional freehand graffiti artist in the Bristol underground scene. The stenciling technique for the 'guerrilla art' for which he is now better known was first seen around 2000 and is widely thought to have been inspired by Blek le Rat (Xavier Prou), one of the first Parisian graffiti artists who is also known as the 'Father of Stencil Graffiti.'
If convicted Mr Lawrence could be jailed for up to three years. The trial continues.

www.artlyst.com/articles/banksy-sperm-alarm-thief-goes-on-trial-in-london

Via video screen,wearing a balaclava no doubt.

Interesting. I was wondering what was going on with the case as I thought he was supposed to be tried a month or so ago. Funnily enough I've seen the guy in question around a fair bit recently

criminal damage sub £5000GBP? Not likely to venture into the IP issue?

I think it will more likely be about criminal damage and theft of their property, a bit of wall and the sprinkler head. The Banksy bit is just for the papers and for the prosecutor to explain why he took it, for financial gain

Raising funds for the fine probably sundowner.

i hope the hotel once given the piece back. put it in the hotel for visitors to see. makes sense.

I don't care who it is, I just want to know more about Tom and Jerry the porno!! =]

Let s call him mister X
But I bumped into him recently while obey was painting..
He didn't give a f.... about it..

I like him,
Cool guy

I agree - I wonder what happened to him as he must have paid back to the community already...?

Is he now...?

That's not what he told me.

after seeing his photo on DM i recognise him from various Q's and hes a member on here 100%... hes also mates with some of the better known members on here....

Hmmm. Lucky I dont mind viewing DM pics.
He reminds me of..
1. The bloke who asked me If I was Sweet Toof whilst watching Shep paint last year.
2. The bloke I startled whilst snapping the Vermin piece outside Moniker also last year.
That one vanished overnight too.