BY: SAMANTHA TAPP
You see graffiti in every city; it’s covering the walls in alleyways, painted down the side of abandoned buildings, and created as a pieces of artwork on the walls of businesses. Usually it’s either vandalism or commissioned artwork, but in the case of the graffiti in Manchester, England, it’s been created for the good of the citizens.
An anonymous activist, fondly known as Wanksy, has been busy scouring the streets of Manchester for over a year drawing dick pics around potholes that desperately need to be fixed. According to Manchester Evening News (MEN), potholes are a serious issue in the city, where a half-mile section of road can be covered in 70 potholes.
After one of Wanksy’s friends was injured in a bike-related accident because of the holes, he decided to take the hole issue into his own hands. Not only do they cause biker accidents, but they can cause serious damage to cars and potentially injure drivers.
With the help of industrial-level chalk, the anonymous man drew penises around the potholes, knowing the city would act on the vandalism and quickly cover up the drawings. He was right. Some of the potholes had been around for years, but were fixed within one to two days after Wanksy made his mark around them.
According to MEN, Wanksy said, “I wanted to attract attention to the pothole and make it memorable. Nothing seemed to do this better than a giant comfy phallus.”
Dozens of photos of the drawings can be seen on Wanksy’s Facebook page, which has just under 28,000 likes. Along with the photos, he has tons of fans commending his work in the city and other people begging for him to bring his work overseas to their cities. But not everyone is happy about the artwork, specifically the city council who refer to the penises as vandalism as opposed to art.
“The actions of this individual are not only stupid but incredibly insulting to local residents,” said a Bury Council spokesman to BBC. “Has this person, for for one second, considered how families with young children must feel when they are confronted with these obscene symbols as they walk to school?”
However, because he is using chalk as opposed to spray paint, the dick pics wash off within one to two weeks. Also, Wanksy isn’t drawing the penis pictures to be offensive, but rather trying to draw attention to an ongoing safety issue in the city, and apparently this drastic measure did finally catch the city officials’ attention.
Wanksy responded to the angry councillors by reminding them that not only will it wash off, but its not offensive. “It’s not an actual photograph of an anatomical part, it’s a drawing, it’s artwork,” he said. “The naked body is a thing artists have painted for years. There are sculptures that don’t wear clothes. It’s artistic expressions. To be offended by that, you must be very prudish.”
