This mural tribute to rapper Stormzy has appeared overnight on the wall of the old Block T building on the Haymarket side of Smithfield in Dublin.
It's by a group called Subset, based on his video for "Shut Up" (see below) and the Twitter machine already says it's good innit. Stormzy just happens to be a "brand ambassador" for Adidas, so the multinational's logo just happens to be bang at the centre of the pic, and he's wearing that top in the video too. What a coincidence, eh?
But will the mural become permanent and iconic? Knowing our Corpo?
Looks like @Stormzy is taking up residence in Smithfield. Keep an eye out for the finished piece.#DublinStreetArt pic.twitter.com/4WC393Lgy8— Generator Dublin (@Gen_Dublin) March 27, 2017
— Light House Cinema (@LightHouseD7) March 30, 2017
Update, 21 November 2017: Subset, the people behind the mural, have been told by Dublin City Council that it has to go, because they don't have planning permission (although they did get permission from the building's owner), and as "a small start-up" they can't afford the planning fees involved.
There was a time when street art was done by artists rather than start-ups, and their art was the political antithesis of commercial advertising rather than being used to flog mass-produced commodities, but there you go.
Subset reacted to the council's decision by adding a wee painter in a Corpo vest starting to go over the mural with grey paint - see below. The Subset collective say they will be removing Stormzy by 15 December, so everything will soon be back to a dull plain boring old grey again and this new landmark will be gone for good.
