An iconic piece of street art executed by Banksy - who you'd think requires no introduction - has been destroyed in the café-saturated suburb of Prahan in Melbourne in order to make way for another café.

The mural-covered shop wall on the corner of Izett and Greville Streets was accidentally drilled through to make room for two pipes by construction workers who, when made aware of the origin of the work, echoed a sentiment prevalent amongst everyone, everywhere: "who the f**k is Banksy?"





The work is the third of its kind to be lost in two years and is one of the last remaining pieces by the anonymous satirist left in Australia. The loss, which has been described as 'devastating' by local residents and business owners, comes at the same time as a new piece by the infamous and subversive street artist popped up in London over the last couple of days depicting a child labourer hunched over a sewing machine churning out a Union Jack bunting. The work is being read as a comment on preparations for The Queen's Diamond Jubilee and The Olympics. That, or a comment on the resurgence of backwards visors.





Disappointing as the loss of the parachuting rat is, you get the feeling Banksy probably gets a kick out of his work being drilled into oblivion to make way for waste-water pipes.

Via The Age