I've destroyed a work of art! (From East London and West Essex Guardian Series)

I've destroyed a work of art!

1:44pm Friday 2nd January 2009 in

• Skip social links
• Print
• Email
• Comments(4)

That title sounds dramatic, until you realise it was graffiti - by that upstart young Cartrain, no less. You see, a group of neighbours from Ferndale Area Residents Association are dedicated to keeping "our patch" clean. We hold regular litter picks, and paint over or wipe out graffiti. And last time out, I erased some of Cartrain's work. A sprayed "bomb" with George Bush's head in it was among the unsightly decor on a wall near to Leytonstone High Road overground station - and we painted over everything that was there.

Imagine my surprise to learn that this image, alongside a rendition of Mickey Mouse, sells for £250! (Or at least that's how much he's asking - see 100artworks.com for details.) I found that "100artworks" website after reading about Cartrain in Private Eye where they report that the poor chap has been victimised - it seems that Damien Hirst himself is after a share of Cartrain's profits. If you actually care, you can read the story here: http://adammacqueen.blogspot.com/2008/11/eyelights.html . Basically Hirst got the hump about Cartrain using a photo of his extortionately-priced, diamond-encrusted skull. It must be so hard being a well known millionaire artist!

But Banksy apparently loves Cartrain, and gave him a piece of work worth £10,000. Still, does that mean the kid's street spraying is any good? Perhaps Banksy appreciates the fact that he has young pretenders hanging on his shirt tails. But being honest, Cartrain's work is rather shallow, both artistically and politically. Cartrain has put videos of his exploits on YouTube, showing where he's left his mark around Leytonstone. When I see places that I recognise, it makes me feel sick. These are places where I live and work, and which my council tax helps to keep clean. There is nothing clever about it.

To my mind what he does is no better than "Check"'s repetitive tagging, or any other act of petty vandalism. It's not well executed, and graffiti brings down the feel of the place - it stops people from being proud of the area where they live. Don't get me wrong, I've seen some wonderful work done with spray cans at festivals, and there it can be an enhancement. But done illegally, the musings of a teenage boy rendered in single layers of paint? If it had been any good, perhaps we'd be campaigning to protect his work, like with Banksy. Cartrain can't help being a kid, but he still has a lot of growing up to do.

So that's why I destroyed his work. Tell me, was it art?