Adulterer gag on bench plaque ‘not a Banksy, it’s brazen theft’
A plaque paying tribute to an “adulterous” husband has provoked an artistic row after it was mysteriously placed on a park bench.
The brass plate was installed on a wooden seat in Royal York Crescent in Clifton, Bristol, and was engraved with the words “For My Love. Husband, Father, Adulterer,” signed off with the words: “Yes, Roger, I knew.”
The tribute quickly attracted attention online, and some locals attempted to identify a “Roger” within their midst, while others doubted the adulterer was real because the plaque states that he was born on Sept 6 1969 and died on Christmas Day.
It was later suggested that Bristol-born street artist Banksy could be behind the comic commemoration.
But an artist has now complained that the plaque is not a Banksy, but instead an act of “brazen theft” as he came up with the gag four years ago.
The London-based artist, who goes by the name The Misfortune Teller, said that he devised the idea of a droll commemorative plaque in 2020.
He said: “I’ve never been the victim of such a brazen theft before.
“I saw the plaque had started to go viral and thought ‘hang on, that’s my work’.
“They have changed the name and the dates, and added a comma, and that’s it. It’s the same joke. It’s just blatant theft.”
In 2020, he created a series of comic park bench plaques, including one which read: “Cherished husband, dad, and adulterer/ Yes John, I knew.”
The finished comedy plaque was posted on The Misfortune Teller’s Instagram account along with others that read: “Awful when hungry, but otherwise pretty solid,” and “For Mark, who sat on this bench and wondered what the hell was happening.”
The Misfortune Teller said he would be intrigued to find who installed the plaque, but the identity of the prankster behind the humorous tribute remains unknown.
Comedic commemorative plaques installed on park benches have a long history in Britain, and some have been devised as artistic projects.
In London, Oliver Bragg, an artist, has quietly installed numerous plaques, including one in the Square Mile, which reads “In loving memory of a bench. Not this bench, another one.”
On the South Bank, another reads “The Memorial to the ‘Unknown Husband’ (often imagined, much desired, never found).”
In north London, one plaque frequently photographed and shared on social media reads: “In memory of Roger Bucklesby, who hated this park and everyone in it.” Roger was invented by author Jamie Maslin, who had the plaque installed the day before he emigrated to Australia in 2013.
