An enormous AI-generated mural on a Bristol pub has been removed after residents highlighted a series of striking inaccuracies in its depiction of the city’s best-known landmarks.
The oversized vinyl artwork was displayed on the exterior of the Jolly Colliers in Bedminster, a city with a celebrated street-art culture and strong ties to Banksy. But its digitally created vision of Bristol quickly drew criticism.
The SS Great Britain was rendered more like a river vessel, while the Clifton Suspension Bridge featured an incorrect one-way traffic arrangement. The mural also included a huge viaduct-style bridge that does not exist in Bristol.
Cabot Tower was similarly misrepresented. The colourful row of houses shown beside the western side of Clifton Suspension Bridge was also misplaced: those homes are actually in Cliftonwood, across the city and overlooking Bristol Harbour.
The artwork appeared to nod to Banksy’s famous Mild Mild West mural, but the reference was far from accurate. Instead of the iconic teddy bear throwing a petrol bomb, the AI image showed a one-legged figure pointing.
The errors provoked an angry response from local residents, who appeared to take action themselves by pulling the mural down.
Images taken afterwards showed the large vinyl sheet had been torn from the pub’s side wall, leaving the controversial display no longer in place.
The incident triggered a fierce backlash among members of Bristol’s creative community, particularly in the birthplace of one of the world’s most recognisable street artists.
Pictured: The AI-created mural displayed on the side of a Bedminster pub before it was removed following a wave of criticism
Within days, the vinyl artwork had been torn from the exterior wall of the Jolly Colliers
Banksy, the British graffiti artist known for his instantly recognisable stencilled spray paintings, rose to international prominence after beginning his career in the 1990s.
His politically charged work has addressed issues surrounding British society and politics, with pieces later selling for tens of millions of pounds and cementing his status as a major figure in contemporary art.
He has consistently operated under the Banksy name, prompting years of speculation over his identity. Among those linked to the pseudonym has been Robert Del Naja, a member of Massive Attack.
The Mail on Sunday reported in 2008 that Banksy was Robin Gunningham, who was born in Bristol in 1973.
The design appeared to have been printed onto a giant vinyl sheet before being fixed to the pub’s exterior.
Given Bristol’s global reputation for street art and its association with artists such as Banksy, the mural attracted immediate attention despite its unconventional execution.
Caroline Maggs of the Bristol Mural Collective told Bristol 24/7 that AI-generated designs “not only devalue but undermine the work of artists”.
She said the collective was “saddened and angered” that the Jolly Colliers had not commissioned handmade work. “We are small businesses, and as a small business themselves, they should have chosen better,” she added.
Banksy’s original Mild Mild West mural shows a teddy bear hurling a petrol bomb
The real SS Great Britain, shown in a far less accurate form in the AI-generated mural
The artist ‘Banksy’ was revealed in 2008 by The Mail on Sunday to in fact be a man named Robin Gunningham (pictured), who was born in Bristol in 1973. He has since changed his name to David Jones
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‘In a climate where humans are being replaced by AI at an alarming rate, choosing art like this is not only an aesthetic choice but a political one.’
Ms Maggs said that having no mural on the pub would have been a better choice than the AI art.
She added that the collective was open to discussions with the Jolly Colliers and would like to commission someone from the collective to ‘rectify their mistake’.
On Tuesday, a letter from an unknown artist condemning the AI art had been placed below the mural, but it was swiftly removed.
The letter called the decision to erect the mural ‘a disrespectful affront to this city’.
It wrote: ‘I am not alone in this opinion. Your decisions have angered a large portion of the very community you supposedly wish to support and exist alongside.’
While it was not signed by anybody, the writer acknowledged Bristol’s reputation for creativity and hosting Upfest, Europe’s largest street art festival.
The letter said: ‘Hundreds of murals exist across the city, created by truly talented individuals, with passion, hard-earned skill and dedication.
‘By choosing to ‘create’ (though that word gives more credit than is due) an AI generated image, produce it in vinyl and stick it to the side of your building, you are actively damaging the livelihoods of artists, disrespecting and contributing to the theft of their work, and making a mockery of what makes Bristol the city it is.
‘You have watered down the spirit, the originality and the very essence of the visual aesthetic you have tried, and failed, to recreate.’
Emily Tuffen, also an artist from BMC, said the mural was a ‘slap in the face’ to Bristol, adding that ‘Brunel would be turning in his grave’ over the piece.
Ms Tuffen said the mural was a ‘very large, very public display of something that is fast becoming a very clear and real threat to the existence of humanity’.
Several other artists from the BMC also criticised the artwork. Nina Raines called the work ‘visually naff,’ while Fiona Finn Teo described it as ‘an appalling and tone-deaf display of absolute nonchalance and disregard to artists residing in Bristol and beyond’.
Tuffen added: ‘The mural is like a giant green light telling all of south Bristol (and anyone who views it online) – AI is fine, let’s jump in feet first!
‘Tally ho! I don’t think it will last long, one way or the other. Bristol won’t stand for it.
‘On a personal level, I would be so happy if someone circled all the mistakes in red paint like a teacher or a spot the difference puzzle. That would make it actually a good street art piece and a clear statement.
‘Bristol loves authentic creativity and won’t stand for intellectual property theft! It wouldn’t cost the proprietors too much if they wanted THAT commissioned!’
A spokesperson from Punch, who own the Bedminster pub, said the mural had been a ‘temporary measure due to the condition of the external wall’ and that they were looking forward to collaborating with local artists and the community in the near future for a permanent mural.
In a statement, the spokesperson added: ‘The external wall requires some minor works which would make a permanent mural at this time difficult, so we had opted for a temporary solution.’
