Photo via Instagram.
As next week’s inauguration of president-elect Donald Trump draws ever closer, one of the most recognizable anti-Trump artworks created during the hard-fought campaign, street artist Hanksy’s Dump Trump mural, was painted over on January 6, reports Bowery Boogie.
A source told Gothamist that the owner of the building with the mural had received a letter from the city over the summer threatening fines if the work, located Orchard Street on the Lower East Side, was not removed.
The mural, painted in August 2015, was almost beautiful in its simplicity, recasting the iconic poop emoji, buzzing flies and all, as the reality show star, instantly recognizable with his trademark coiffure. The painting went viral, and was one of the most memorable pieces of art created in response to the election season.
A memorial to Hanksy’s Dump Trump (2015). Courtesy of Hanksy.
“I painted that silly Trump mural in NYC late last summer a few weeks after the wigged one announced his presidential run,” said Hanksy in a statement early last year. “The mural was a joke and so was Trump. Unfortunately the punchline never came and it’s scary as hell.”
As Trump’s candidacy picked up steam, Hanksy launched a “Dump Across America” tour, offering the public downloadable versions of the Dump Trump cartoon and writing on his website, “it’s not politics. It’s just common sense. Donald Trump is not fit to represent the United States of America.”
The businessman-turned-politician has been the subject of widespread criticism for his association with the so-called alt-right, known for its embrace of racism and white suprematism; his sexist remarks about women, including hot-mic comments in which he bragged about sexual assault; his suspected ties to Russia, and his business ventures abroad.
“It was a shit mural anyways,” said the artist to Gothamist, unperturbed by the whitewashing. “However if anyone has a nice giant wall (preferably in direct view of 725 5th Ave [Trump Tower]), I’d be happy to paint it again.”