Sydney teen charged after he vandalised Scott Marsh murals

A teenager has been charged with two counts of graffiti after he defaced several public murals painted by Sydney artist Scott Marsh.

The 16-year-old was found painting over the iconic mural of George Michael in Erskineville, in Sydney’s inner-west, on Monday night.

He was taken to Newtown Police station and is set to appear at a Children’s Court on January 16.

The arrest comes just days after another man was charged with vandalising the same mural of the late singer, who was a prolific icon for the LGBTQIA community.

 

Scott Marsh’s famous ‘St George’ mural was repeatedly destroyed by vandals in the past week 

A group of men were filmed painting over the George Michael mural last week

A group of men were filmed painting over the George Michael mural last week

Dressed in an all-white tracksuit, Ben Gittany, 23, used black paint and a roller to obscure the image of George Michael

Dressed in an all-white tracksuit, Ben Gittany, 23, used black paint and a roller to obscure the image of George Michael 

Ben Gittany, 23, will face Downing Centre Local Court on December 17 after he was filmed painting over the mural on Saturday.

Dressed in an all-white tracksuit, Mr Gittany used black paint and a roller to obscure the image before throwing buckets of paint at the wall.

‘I’ve done nothing wrong, I’ve done nothing wrong,’ Gittany repeats in a video filmed by a local resident, before police remove him from the scene.

‘I’m defending my religion – that’s exactly what I’m doing,’ he can be heard saying, as he is filmed by at least three people. 

Ben Gittany, 23, will face Downing Centre Local Court on December 17 after he was filmed painting over the mural on Saturday

Ben Gittany, 23, will face Downing Centre Local Court on December 17 after he was filmed painting over the mural on Saturday

The arrests follow a spate of vandalism on Scott Marsh’s artworks – his mural ‘The Happy Ending’ was also defaced.

The provocative artwork, painted on the side of the Botany View Hotel in Newtown, was in celebration of same sex marriage.

The mural depicts former Prime Minister Tony Abbott as a bride-to-be, with his hand in the pants of a semi-naked Cardinal George Pell.

The controversial image was first defaced less than 12 hours after the results of the Australian postal vote survey revealed a resounding ‘Yes’ vote in favor of same sex marriage.

Another defaced mural by Scott Marsh depicts former Prime Minister Tony Abbott as a bride-to-be, with his hand in the pants of a semi-naked Cardinal George Pell 

Another defaced mural by Scott Marsh depicts former Prime Minister Tony Abbott as a bride-to-be, with his hand in the pants of a semi-naked Cardinal George Pell 

Iconic street artist Scott Marsh painted ‘The Happy Ending’ on the wall of Botany View Hotel

The controversial image was first defaced less than 12 hours after the results of the Australian postal vote survey revealed a resounding 'Yes' vote in favor of same sex marriage 

The controversial image was first defaced less than 12 hours after the results of the Australian postal vote survey revealed a resounding ‘Yes’ vote in favor of same sex marriage 

A group of men were filmed throwing paint on the mural on Thursday night, as patrons celebrated the Yes vote inside the hotel.

Mr Marsh has taken the vandalism in his stride, sarcastically praising the vandal responsible.

‘They had a lot of paint and a good throwing arm, as the mural is pretty tall,’ Marsh told Broadsheet. 

‘It’s a great collaboration with the church, who have really over over-emphasised George Pell’s excitement at the historic ‘Yes’ vote by plastering his face with white paint. Well done.’ 

The mural was first defaced at about 6pm on Thursday night with a few buckets of white paint

The mural was first defaced at about 6pm on Thursday night with a few buckets of white paint

Locals have come out in force to chalk messages of love over the vandal's black spraypaint

Locals have come out in force to chalk messages of love over the vandal’s black spraypaint

The day after the mural was painted over, messages of love and support were chalked over the black paint. 

Mr Marsh said that the response to the mural ‘has been 98 per cent positive’ and that the only negative responses had come from a few Christian groups. 

Mr Marsh is responsible for other iconic street art in the same area, including ‘St George’, ‘Politics As Usual’, ‘Casino Mike’ and ‘Tony Loves Tony’.

There have already been calls for him to paint a new mural in the same iconic spot.

Mr Marsh first painted Tony Abbott in September, after the former Primer Minister urged all Australians to 'Vote No'

Mr Marsh first painted Tony Abbott in September, after the former Primer Minister urged all Australians to ‘Vote No’

Iconic Newtown artist Scott Marsh also painted 'Tony Loves Tony' with the hashtag #VoteYes

Iconic Newtown artist Scott Marsh also painted ‘Tony Loves Tony’ with the hashtag #VoteYes

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