Banksy's Valentine's Day Artwork Removed Hours After Its Reveal

British street artist Banksy's newest artwork which aimed at domestic violence against women was removed hours, allegedly due to concerns around fly-tipping, reported Independent.

The artwork depicted a caricature image of a 1950s housewife wearing a blue dress with a blue apron and yellow washing-up gloves. She can be seen pushing her husband into a real chest freezer. The woman can be seen smiling despite having one missing tooth and a bruised eye. The piece is on a wall in Margate, Kent.

Despite being integral to the artwork, the abandoned freezer was later removed by council workers.

Banksy, whose true identity remains unconfirmed, posted three images of the work, which he entitled "Valentine's Day Mascara", on his Instagram account.

The social media users praised the artist for highlighting the important topic of domestic violence on the day of romance.

According to an AFP report, workers claiming to be from Thanet council, the local authority administering Margate, arrived at the site mid-morning Tuesday to clear away the dilapidated household appliance.

The move prompted bemusement - and even conspiracy theories -- among bystanders, who noted it was usually hard to get the council to make prompt removals.

"People were sort of like, 'Stop, stop, you know, this is a Banksy, right?'" local resident Laura Holden, 35, told AFP.

"And they (the workers) were like, 'Yeah, no, we've got permission to take everything away'," she said.

"It felt like it was part of the piece, and perhaps Banksy intended that all along, because we all know how hard it is to get Thanet District Council to come and collect our rubbish."

Banksy, known to hail from Bristol in southwest England, has been busy producing and selling dozens of limited-edition screen prints to raise funds to support civilians affected by the war in Ukraine, AFP reported.