Earlier this week, Banksy's Mobile Lovers piece was found in (and later removed from) a doorway in Bristol, England. Around the same time, another stencil work was found in Cheltenham that depicts men in trench coats spying on a phone booth. Banksy's publicist Jo Brooks hasn't confirmed or denied that this piece was made by the street artist, but that hasn't stopped the media from giving him the credit.
Because the unconfirmed piece is located near Britain's Government Communications Headquarters (basically the UK's NSA) and it clearly references government surveillance tactics, someone brilliantly decided to ask them what they thought about the work. A GCHQ spokesperson responded, "This is the first time we have ever been asked to comment on art. Although we are not qualified critics, we are as intrigued as the rest of the residents of Cheltenham about the appearance of the mysterious artwork...For those who are interested, our website gives a glimpse of what modern day intelligence operatives are really like, although some may be disappointed by the lack of trench coats and dark glasses."
The joke was a genius way of addressing the piece without actually getting into what it implies about the agency. Legit Banksy or not, it definitely added to the awesomeness of the art and gave the GCHQ a few cool points.
RELATED: New Banksy Mural "Mobile Lovers" Appears in Britain
[via CNN]
