Brussels residents sign petition against street murals

An online petition to prevent the removal of an explicit mural in Brussels gathered thousands of signatures, highlighting a wave of graphic art street in the city known for its mural paintings inspired by cartoons or other explicit symbols.

Painted last month by an anonymous artist in the pointillist style, using black and white dye, the drawing of a male reproductive system covers a two-floor wall of a house, right on the side of the house. Shortly after the appearance of the painting, local council members reunited in late September, voting that this work of art to be removed. Still, the creators of Brussels’ pro-mural petition o make an interesting defense: The paintings serve as a counterbalance to—and a critique of—the “pre-chewed, touristic street art imposed on Brussels residents.”

"Everybody likes it, I think," said one Saint-Gilles resident interviewed by Reuters. "People pretend to be shocked but they like it. Why shouldn't they like it?" The local council recognizes that the wall was ideal for street art and promises that they would find an artist to fill the space after the explicit drawing will be removed.

Darren, a Brussels resident who goes to a restaurant across the street from the mural portraying intercourse, declares for Reuter that he likes the mural because it is unique. "When you walk around here and you get stuck (in traffic), you look around," he said. "You don't see things like that everywhere, it's important to have things that are a bit different and cannot be found everywhere."

This is not the only explicit mural that can be seen on the city walls, other paintings of this kind being easily to be found in other neighborhoods. Another painting illustrating a human back covers a Zanussi ad with the first letter and last two letters of the name of the brand covered. A graffiti illustrating a birth was added in early October on the other side of the same building.