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Pothole penis graffiti (source Wanksy Facebook page)Penis paintings prompt pothole patch-up - starting in Ramsbottom
An anti-pothole campaigner with an artistic bent is trying to force his local council to take action to fill them in – by paining penises around them.
He says his artwork, which first appeared in Ramsbottom, is yielding results with the holes filled in quickly, but Bury council say cleaning his graffiti is costing money that could be used to repair roads.
Going by the name Wanksy, his Facebook page, which has around 1,000 ‘likes’ has images of his work, which is done in non-permanent paint.
In the ‘about’ section of the page, he describes himself as “taking direct action by using art to highlight the dangerous potholes that damage our vehicles and harm cyclists on a daily basis.”
He told the Manchester Evening News: “The roads of Manchester are in an appalling state, especially around Bury. I have cyclist friends who have been hospitalised.
“They damage vehicles. Sometimes it’s hard to know which pothole caused the damage because there are so many. When I’ve finished in Ramsbottom, I’ll move on to the rest of Manchester.”
He went on: “I wanted to attract attention to the pothole and make it memorable. Nothing seemed to do this better than a giant comedy phallus. It’s also speedy, I don’t want to be in the road for a long time.
“It seems to have become my signature. I just want to make people smile and draw attention to the problem. It seems to be working, judging from the Facebook fan page.”
He says that typically potholes, some of them there for a year, are filled within between 48 hours and a week of his contribution.
“Some still remain, it’s not a 100 per cent success rate, but it works. I’m inspired by the alternative style displayed by artists such as Grayson Perry and of course by graffiti artists like Hazer and street artists especially Banksy.
“It has a message that people get, but also has a bit of comedy value. Hopefully mine does too.
“However, unlike these artists I want my work to be destroyed, I like it when it gets dug up and replaced with fresh tarmac.”
However, a spokesman for the local council described the graffiti as “obscene” and said that removing it was diverting resources from road repairs.
He said: “The actions of this individual are not only stupid but incredibly insulting to local residents.
“Has this person, for just one second, considered how families with young children must feel when they are confronted with these obscene symbols as they walk to school? Not only is this vandalism, but it’s also counter-productive.
“Every penny that we have to spend cleaning off this graffiti is a penny less that we have to spend on actually repairing the potholes!”
The spokesman, who urged anyone catching the street artist in the act to contact police, went on: “People are entitled to express their grievances to the council, but offending the public and wasting their council tax is not the way to resolve the situation.
“Painting obscenities around potholes will not get them repaired any quicker, but simply waste valuable time and resources.”
Simon joined road.cc as news editor in 2009 and is now the site’s community editor, acting as a link between the team producing the content and our readers. A law and languages graduate, published translator and former retail analyst, he has reported on issues as diverse as cycling-related court cases, anti-doping investigations, the latest developments in the bike industry and the sport’s biggest races. Now back in London full-time after 15 years living in Oxford and Cambridge, he loves cycling along the Thames but misses having his former riding buddy, Elodie the miniature schnauzer, in the basket in front of him.
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40 comments
Penis and Ramsbottom in the headline, I know there's a really puerile/juvenile joke in there somewhere.
If giant phallus' are so obscene how come no one has covered up the Cerne Abbot Giant.
No budget?
Maybe they can make a few management redundancies in the council and then the HR people who will no longer be needed which will release some cash to fill potholes.
Well I hope this is copied up and down the land. Even if the holes are not filled in due to under funded councils. It could serve as a universal symbol, warning cyclists and other vulnerable road users of an upcoming pot hole whilst also reminding everyone that Eric Pickles is a massive dick.
Need to try this in Blackpool but I think most of the council are myopic!
Sorry to bust your bubble guys, but what a f*cking twat.
Reporting potholes via the Fill That Hole app is just as effective but without the self-important, money wasting tittery of this berk. You might be amazed to learn that local councils would *love* to be able to fix the roads, but they DO NOT HAVE THE BUDGET. If you want to make cheap gags, do it at the expense of central govt and the likes of Eric Pickles, who have been screwing council budgets into the ground since 2010. Oh and letting local authorities take all the blame, because idiots like you lot will merrily put the boot into a convenient scapegoat, rather than where it properly belongs.
Oh and to the cretin bleating about local councillors and 'generous allowances' - I know a *lot* of local councillors and you are utterly wrong.
Average time spent per week on council business = 20hrs per week
(source - https://www.nfer.ac.uk/publications/LGCL01/LGCL01.pdf )
Councillor allowance at the LA I use to work for = £4575 pa
(source = https://www.nfer.ac.uk/publications/LGCL01/LGCL01.pdf )
That's a lot of work for the money. Oh and non-stop heckling from a chorus of know-nothing muppets. I'd bet my house that none of you would be willing to do the job.
I deal with councillors all day long and the majority are barely sentient so don't give me any of that crap about you wouldn't do that job for the money - it's not their job - it's a second I'm a self important pompous no mark job.
Oh and Highways inspectors don't give a fuck about cyclists because most of them are old overweight half wits whose aim in life is to do as little as possible.
Not all authorities are equal in this respect. In my area they simply seem to ignore reports through Fill That Hole. Tried that, didn't work.
This is direct action that appears to have results. If the budget really wasn't available nobody would attend these sites at all and the knobs would remain on the road. Fixing potholes promptly is good for everyone. The repair costs less and causes less disruption and the possibility of the authority having to pay damages as a result of injury or vehicle damage is reduced.
As for offending kids etc. I'd rather have my kids ride past a crudely drawn knob and bollocks for 2 days than have to ride through/round a pothole for a year. If this approach gets stuff done I'm all for it.
Because he's the hero Manchester deserves, but not the one it needs right now. So we'll hunt him. Because he can take it. Because he's not our hero. He's a silent guardian, a watchful protector. A dark knight.
How long before someone digs up an original wanksy to flog it on ebay?
Just think how much worse the roads will be if that happens!
This is a great idea - I work for a council and I have to say Highways rank right up there on the tosser scale
What a good idea!
The man deserves a medal.
With a cock on it.
I'm surprised the council isn't selling these cocks to London art collectors for £thousands each
What brand of paint does he use? Ahem. For scientific purposes, naturally.
How about a variation on the theme and painting the email address and / or phone number of a local councillor in the ward, next to the pothole?
Most local councillors are dicks anyway so the artist integrity will remain and it may encourage people to contact them. Councillors dislike nothing more than pesky council tax payers making them do stuff for their generous allowances.
Puerile.
But made me laugh - and seemingly effective.
Maybe they don't like it because the local highways authority is already full of dicks.
A mate of mine recently came off as a result of hitting a pothole in Bolton and broke his jaw, so I can sympathise with the desire to get the holes fixed!
What a fantastic idea!!!!!
Will have to start doing that here now.. it's getting ridiculous....
Let's hope that,like Bankski, his work is copied all over the country
Great, can Wanksy come and do this around Eastbourne, where there's a ton of holes, which the council refuse to fill for another 8 months.
Think of the children!!!
Wanksy 5 : Council spokesman 0
(3 own goals by Council spokesman)
Wanksy:
...which is done in non-permanent paint.
Council spokesman:
“Every penny that we have to spend cleaning off this graffiti is a penny less that we have to spend on actually repairing the potholes!”
...removing it was diverting resources from road repairs.
Wanksy:
potholes, some of them there for a year, are filled within between 48 hours and a week of his contribution.
Council spokesman:
said that removing it was diverting resources from road repairs.
Council spokesman:
“Has this person, for just one second, considered how families with young children must feel when they are confronted with these obscene symbols as they walk to school?
Me:
Has this council spokesman, for just one second, considered how people feel when they are injured because of a pothole which the council haven't repaired?
The spokesman, who urged anyone catching the street artist in the act to contact police, went on: “People are entitled to express their grievances to the council, but offending the public and wasting their council tax is not the way to resolve the situation.
“Painting obscenities around potholes will not get them repaired any quicker, but simply waste valuable time and resources.”
Aren't injuries caused by potholes aren't treated by the NHS?
Isn't urging people to call the police wasting valuable time and resources?
Wouldn't putting resource into fixing potholes quickly reduce the resource burden at source?
Wouldn't it be better replacing the Council spokesman with someone less useless?
Filling the cracks
'Has this person, for just one second, considered how families with young children must feel when they are confronted with these obscene symbols as they walk to school?'
What? Of course, no school kids ever drew a comedy knob on his or her desk or pencil case.
I'd rather my kids had a giggle about one of these that them or me lose our front teeth.
He used mine for the outline.
Really? Then you might want to go see a doctor.
And I will now carry a can of paint in place of my 2nd water bottle.
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