THERE WAS EXCITEMENT in Smithfield back in March when a huge mural dedicated to Stormzy was revealed to celebrate his arrival for his sold out Olympia show.

It was a pretty cool addition to the city:

The man himself was very impressed when he saw it

The mural – along with many other street art projects around Dublin – was put together by an artist collective called Subset.

This week the group revealed that Dublin City Council has issued them with a warning to take down the Stormzy mural and this work in Rathmines because of a lack of planning permission:

@SubsetDublin @SubsetDublin

The group then revealed on social media their own little protest against the order. On the Stormzy mural they added a little painter going over it with bland grey paint

@SubsetDublin @SubsetDublin

And on the piece in Rathmines, they painted over half of it to match the front of the building

@SubsetDublin @SubsetDublin

The point being: will the walls actually look better once they are returned to their original state?

A spokesperson for Subset told TheJournal.ie that it didn’t apply for planning permission because it couldn’t afford it:

We’re a startup. We have very little money and in order for us to apply for planning permission… it would have been very costly and time-consuming.

Subset sees their work as contributing to the culture of Dublin:

We’re attempting to transform what is a negative situation for us, and those who like our artwork, into a catalyst for cultural, social and political change. Here’s hoping.

They say that the Stormzy mural will be removed by December 15, so enjoy it while you can

Until then, the little protesting painter will stay mid-shift slapping on the grey paint.

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