Forget Banksy! Here’s the latest street artist Wanksy

According to the authors of a new book, there’s a fresh street artist in town, and he goes by the name of Wanksy. Here’s just one of the (not at all spoofy) letters they’ve been sending to the Department for Culture, Media & Sport, demanding heritage status for his work.

 Dear Sir or Madam,

We would like to petition the UK government to make a Unesco World Heritage Site application.

The work in question is a phallus carved into concrete and can be found at the entrance to the Virgin Active gym in West Acton, London. We believe the work satisfies two of the criteria for selection, namely:

To represent a masterpiece of human creative genius;

To bear a unique or at least exceptional testimony to a cultural tradition or to a civilization which is living or which has disappeared.

The first point is self-evident. ‘Cock in Concrete’ is a creation of un paralleled genius. Not only is it a penis of proud majesty, it was thumbed into quick-drying cement while the workmen weren’t looking. Secondly, the work clearly represents an enduring culrutal tradition, that of drawing inappropriate images in public places and running away.

We believe the originator to be Wanksy, an anonymous street artist whose work stretches the limits of human patience and the very meaning of meaning itself.

In conclusion, we trust that you will share our deeply held belief that Wanksy’s ‘Cock in Concrete’ is a work of magnificent cultural value and should unquestionably become a World Heritage Site for the enjoyment and edification of future generations.

Yours faithfully,
Marc Blakewell and James Harris
Professional Wanksy intertpretologists

To petition for ‘Cock in Concrete’ to become a Unesco World Heritage Site, write to the Department for Culture, Media & Sport, 100 Parliament St, SW1A 2BQ.

‘Wanksy: Interpreting a Graffiti Virtuoso’ by Marc Blakewill and James Harris, £9.99, published by Summersdale.

Wondering who Banksy is? Here’s the latest conspiracy theories.

Tags: banksy, Cock in Concrete, UNESCO, virgin active, Wanksy, West Acton, World heritage Site