AI mural inspired by Banksy sparks backlash in Bristol

Representational image(Istock)

At first glance, the huge mural on the side of a Bristol pub looks like a colourful celebration of the city. Look a little closer, though, and the problems start to appear.The artwork was generated using AI and printed onto vinyl before being placed on the Jolly Colliers pub in Bedminster.

It features Bristol landmarks, including the Cabot Tower and the SS Great Britain.

It also appears to reference Banksy's famous Mild Mild West. But local artists quickly pointed out that several of those details weren't quite right.

Even the Banksy reference was wrong

The most noticeable problem may be the reference to Banksy. His Mild Mild West, created in Bristol, is known for its teddy bear throwing a petrol bomb at riot police. The AI mural instead showed a strange one-legged figure pointing.Other parts of the image also raised eyebrows. Bristol24/7 reported that Cabot Tower was incorrectly depicted, while the SS Great Britain looked more like a smaller tugboat.For a city whose visual identity is so closely tied to street art, those mistakes were hard to ignore.

Artists say the problem goes beyond bad details

Caroline Maggs of the Bristol Mural Collective criticised the decision to use AI rather than commission a local artist. Speaking to Bristol24/7, she said, “AI designs not only devalue but undermine the work of artists.”

She also argued that choosing AI art was not simply an aesthetic decision because artists were already facing pressure from the technology.An unsigned note was also reportedly attached to the pub, accusing those behind the mural of failing to respect Bristol's creative community. The reaction wasn't just about whether the artwork looked good. For some local artists, it was about who gets paid to make public art and whether a city famous for its artists should be using AI to imitate that culture.

Why the pub says it used AI

The pub's owner, Punch Pubs, gave a different explanation. According to Bristol24/7, a spokesperson said the mural was a “temporary measure due to the condition of the external wall” and that the company planned to work with local artists and the community on a permanent mural later.So this wasn't presented as the final artwork. The company said the condition of the wall made a permanent mural difficult at the time.But that explanation didn't stop the criticism.The incident also isn't the first time artists have experimented with AI trained or designed to resemble Banksy's visual language. In 2020, The Art Newspaper reported on an AI project called GANksy, which generated images designed to resemble the anonymous British street artist's work.