An artist has dismissed speculation that a brass plaque discovered in Bristol on a bench commemorating a “father, husband, adulterer” is a Banksy.
Themisfortuneteller shared a four-year-old image of a very similar joke “honest monument,” which he claimed is what had been copied, on social media.
Locals were shocked to see the bronze plaque which appeared “overnight” on March 22 on Royal York Crescent in the Clifton area of ​​the city. Another plaque was seen meters away on a container, commemorating “Craig, who spent many a relaxing time here.”
The full message from the bank reads: ‘For my love. 06/09/69 – 12/25/23. Husband, Father, Adulterer. Yes, Roger, I knew it.
After much excitement linking the Banksy monument, The fortune teller posted on Instagram: ‘It’s not by Banksy; It’s fucking mine!’
An artist has dismissed speculation that a brass plaque discovered in Bristol on a bench commemorating a “father, husband, adulterer” is a Banksy.
Themisfortuneteller claimed that the plaque was a copy of his own work from years ago. She shared an image from 2020 with a very similar message (pictured)
It is not known who is behind the plates, but Themisfortuneteller claimed that it was copied from his designs from years before.
He shared a photo from his camera roll of a different license plate on a bench taken on March 6, 2020.
This one said: ‘For my love’. 11.26.53 – 04.03.20. Husband, Father, Adulterer. Yes, John, I knew it.’
Monday’s post added: “So apparently some complete git in Bristol stole one of my license plate ideas and put it on a bench.” The audacity.’
He also reshared posts from last year promoting some similar 2023 designs.
He told MailOnline that after a friend sent him a news article about the plaque and people thought it might be the famous graffiti artist, he thought: ‘Oh shit! That’s 100 percent my badge that someone saw on my feed and stole from me word for word.’
While “it’s pretty complicated” to pursue every case of suspected copying as an artist, this one was too egregious to pass up.
This is not the first time that Themisfortuneteller has felt harmed when one of his designs goes viral.
His most popular plaque was inspired by an ex-girlfriend to whom he made a joke in memory of which he said: “For Barbara.” Horrible when you’re hungry, but otherwise pretty solid.
“I took a picture of it, posted it on my feed and it just blew up,” he explained.
However, despite millions of people viewing the design through online meme accounts, none gave credit to its designer, instead saying they “should be happy” to see the work receiving publicity.
While some cynics have accused Themisfortuneteller of trying to control all the bank’s fake engravings, he insists that the Bristol bank’s case is very unique.
‘People can see it as it is. It’s just a direct copy,” she said.
“I think there’s a comma that’s different and maybe they changed the dates, which I think makes it less fun, a little ‘try-hard’.”
The memorial seen in the Clifton area was meters from another plaque on a container, leading to talk of a “new Banksy”.
Another brass plaque commemorated ‘Craig, who spent many a relaxing time here’.
People were shocked to see the bronze plaque which appeared “overnight” on March 22 on Royal York Crescent in the Clifton area of ​​the city. Another plaque was seen meters away on a container, commemorating “Craig, who spent many a relaxing time here.”
Sue and Martin Wells, who saw the plaque on the bin, said the plaque on the bank “appeared under cover of darkness outside our home on the respectable Royal York Crescent”.
Adding: ‘Maybe it’s a covert message to a local lady? Revenge or forgiveness? Either way, her days of friction are clearly over.
‘It is the second bronze plaque that appears recently a few meters away from each other.
“Is there any pattern emerging, perhaps a Banksy bronze plaque?”
Do you know who is behind the plates? Contact matthew.cox@mailonline.co.uk