Banksy mix-up sparks backlash over AI mural at Bristol pub

A huge AI-designed mural has sparked an artists’ backlash in Bristol after appearing to feature the wrong Banksy artwork and inaccurate versions of city landmarks.

The vinyl image was pasted onto the side of the Jolly Colliers pub in Bedminster. It includes a version of Cabot Tower and an SS Great Britain said to resemble a tugboat.

Its interpretation of Banksy’s Mild Mild West also shows a one-legged figure pointing rather than the artist’s famous petrol bomb-throwing teddy bear.

Caroline Maggs, from the Bristol Mural Collective (BMC), told Bristol 24/7: “AI designs not only devalue but undermine the work of artists”. She said the group was “saddened and angered by the Jolly Colliers not choosing to support hand made work”.

Maggs said leaving the wall without a mural would have been preferable and offered to discuss commissioning a BMC artist to “rectify their mistake”.

On Tuesday, an unsigned letter condemning the artwork was placed beneath it before being quickly removed. It branded the mural “a disrespectful affront to this city” and highlighted Bristol’s creative reputation and its hosting of Upfest, Europe’s largest street art festival.

BMC artist Emily Tuffen called the installation a “slap in the face” to Bristol, while Nina Raines described it as “visually naff”. Fiona Finn Teo called it “an appalling and tone-deaf display of absolute nonchalance and disregard to artists residing in Bristol and beyond”.

Punch, which owns the pub, said the artwork was temporary because of the wall’s condition. A spokesperson said: “The external wall requires some minor works which would make a permanent mural at this time difficult, so we have opted for a temporary solution.”

The company said it looked forward to working with local artists and the community on a permanent mural.