''Spy Booth'' was a 2014 artwork by
Banksy in
Cheltenham,
England
England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
.
The piece has been seen as a critique of the
global surveillance disclosures of 2013.
In 2014, Robin Barton and
Bankrobber London helped with the preservation of the artwork,
and attempted to broker the removal and sale of the piece. However the artwork was painted onto a Grade II
listed building (
153–159 Fairview Road) and the council prevented it from being removed, giving it retrospective listed building consent in 2015 and affording it some protection from removal. Despite this, the artwork was removed, destroying it in August 2016. ''Spy Booth'' was auctioned as nine stucco-faced brick fragments sawed from the wall and as an
NFT.
The
GCHQ has used the picture, as a symbolic image for "How does an analyst catch a terrorist?", on its "what we do" page, on its website.
See also
*
List of works by Banksy
*
List of works by Banksy that have been damaged or destroyed
References
External links
* Banksy
''Spy Booth''Photo: Jules Annan/Barcroft Media 14 April 2014
2014 in art
English contemporary works of art
Culture in Cheltenham
Global surveillance
GCHQ
Graffiti in England
Works by Banksy
2014 in England
Lost works of art
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