ARTWORK, inspired by Banksy’s ‘Create Escape’, has appeared on the walls of Reading Gaol.
The piece shows a figure, holding a book, leant against a wall and is accompanied by an excerpt from Oscar Wilde’s poem, The Ballad of Reading Gaol.
The text reads: “I never saw a man who looked, with such a wistful eye, upon that little tent
of blue, which prisoners call the sky, and at every drifting cloud that went, with sails of silver by.”
An artist by the name of Portus Abonae has claimed responsibility for the work and drew on Banksy’s influence when creating the motif.
“I started drawing it, just after Banksy painted the Create Escape,’’ said Portus.
They continued: “I thought about how we had all been so trapped in our homes, and our only contact with each other and the arts was social media and television.”
It comes as campaigners continue their efforts to turn the former jail into an arts hub, rather than be sold to developers.
Banksy has offered to support the cause by selling the stencil used on Reading Jail and experts estimate this could raise up to £10m.
The artist said: “Too much of our sovereign state-owned and public funded property is not being remodelled or re-used for the common good.
“There is now a fantastic opportunity to enrich lives through access to the arts, and development of the culture of the nation.”
Portus believes it is crucial to protect the arts industry for future generations to flourish by using different creative outlets to express themselves.
They said: “The music, art, film and television industry is our greatest British asset, yet it’s being cut from schools and society by people who have no love for our country or its greatest assets – untapped talents.”
The painting is situated along the Oscar Wilde memorial walk and there has been no confirmation whether it is set to be removed.
