New place for Banksy’s chest work in amusement park

The spray-painted artwork, which incorporates an actual freezer, is now to be housed at an amusement park in Margate, south-east England. There it is “available for everyone who wants to come and admire it,” said Dreamland Margate on Twitter on Saturday evening.

Banksy made the work, which is intended to draw attention to domestic violence, public on Instagram on Tuesday. Spray-painted on a house wall in Margate, it shows a 1950s-style woman with a black eye and a chipped tooth who appears to have just dumped her partner in a freezer. While the woman and the man’s legs are spray-painted, the chest is real — presumably it was dumped garbage.

The plant hadn’t been around long when the freezer first disappeared – for health and safety reasons, as the local council dutifully announced shortly afterwards. A day later, the chest was back in place before disappearing again on Thursday. This time, in consultation with the homeowner, a London gallery had put them in storage for later reunion with the rest of the work elsewhere.

“The arrival of Banksy’s latest work in Margate has caused a great deal of excitement,” said Dreamland Margate boss Eddie Kemsley. All residents are thrilled that the street artist has chosen their city. Now the park will look for a good place together with experts. Since admission is free, everyone can see the work called “Valentine’s Day Mascara” during opening hours. The plan is to use it to raise money for a local charity that takes care of victims of domestic violence.