Cardiff's "Mona Lisa" mural replaced by McDonald's ad
2 Min Read
The mural in the Butetown area of Cardiff as designed by the My City, My Shirt initiative to allow minorities to identify more with their city.
-
Cardiff's "Mona Lisa" in the Butetown area
Cardiff's "Mona Lisa" mural has been replaced by a McDonald's ad in the Butetown neighborhood. The mural was built last spring to encourage diversity and acceptance.
The mural was subject to vandalism- which police investigated as a hate crime at the time, and now it has vanished completely.
McDonald's claimed it was 'unaware of the artwork' and responded to MP Stephen Doughty's Twitter post saying " What on earth are you thinking?" by saying the location was chosen by a third party and they were ignorant of the mural.
What on earth are you thinking @McDonaldsUK ?? Please contact me asap. #Butetown #TigerBay #Cardiff https://t.co/eghNeyrOrC
— Stephen Doughty MP (@SDoughtyMP) January 22, 2022
However, art project organizer Yusuf Ismail was devastated when he heard of the incoming ad. He denies McDonald's claim and says the agency involved was made aware of the mural's cultural value, but were "dismissive" and proceeded with the "hamburger promotion" regardless.
He added, "The agency were given all the information about the sensitive site, not just the fact that it's got an incredible piece of artwork on it, but that it was vandalized, probably racially motivated."
Ismail says the restoration of the mural isn't adequate and calls for something "with a bit of legacy behind it."
Economy Minister Vaughan Gething called the removal of the mural "staggeringly insensitive."
I could not be more unimpressed with @McDonaldsUK @McDonalds - staggeringly insensitive https://t.co/OrweEaAjoS
— Vaughan Gething (@vaughangething) January 22, 2022
Many people in the community admired the painting, and youngsters from Mount Stuart Primary School and St Mary the Virgin Church in Wales Primary School in Butetown raised funds to maintain it last year.
"I've always struggled with that issue of dual identity - am I Welsh, am I Somali? The truth is I'm both," says Ismail; One doubts a McDonald's burger ad would be able to answer Ismail's and other youths' complex quest for representation.
