Some years ago I was walking from South Kensington station towards the V&A where I was going to spend the best part of a day in the V&A library. I spotted two workman standing in front of a Banksy stencilled image of a rat holding a camera with a zoom lens and a flash attachment (Paparazzi Rat). It had all the hallmarks that the spray paint had been applied very quickly, with trailing paint seeping out from under the stencil. It was discreetly placed on a white masonry-painted wall behind iron railings. I second-guessed what was about to happen. The hoodied workmen were going to remove the artwork. I asked if this was true. They said the owner of the building had asked them to remove it, but keep it intact so that it could be sold. Their van shielded them from the public – no-one seemed to notice what was happening,
I took a series of photos throughout the day, and one I took a few weeks afterwards. If you pass that building today there is no evidence left of its removal.
All photographs c.Graham Twemlow
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