In the mural, a housewife from the 1950s with a swollen eye and a missing tooth is shown putting a man in a freezer. Banksy called the piece "Valentine's Day Mascara." It also had a broken freezer and other things that were later taken away. The council said that the freezer will come back "once it has been made safe." Thanet District Council said in a statement, "A fridge freezer that may have been part of the installation has been taken away for safety reasons because it was on public land."
On Valentine's Day morning, Banksy posted a picture of the work on his Instagram page. Many of the comments suggest that he is talking about stopping violence against women. The artist also posted photos that showed a close-up of the woman's face, which was smiling but looked like it had been hurt. A broken white garden chair, a blue crate, and an empty beer bottle were among the pieces of trash on the ground. The person who lived in the house where the painting was made, who did not want to be named, said that the freezer and other things were taken away "very quickly" and put into a truck at noon on Tuesday. The tenant talked about how she felt about being kicked out and said, "I'm very upset because it's not very nice. It was part of the art, and they should be very happy because it could bring more positive attention to Margate. "Why did they move those pieces? It's a waste of time." "Before, no one cared if trash was in the street," she said, referring to the council. I mean, they were, but they weren't that fast. "Even if you tell them something about taking out the trash, they don't do anything for a week or two."
Many people in Margate talked about the removal of the freezer on social media, with some saying that the council ruined the art. Richard Llewellyn was one of them. He said, "The alley, which is a public footpath and leads almost to where the Banksy piece is, has been this way for weeks and weeks. I can't believe what's in the pile. "Yet the council can get there quickly to take down a piece of art 200 meters away. I think someone has their priorities a little off." Another comment said, "It's probably been there for months. It only became a health and safety issue when it became a piece of art."
The council said that the fridge freezer "is now in storage and will be returned once it has been made safe for the public." The statement also said, "We will get in touch with the property owner to talk about how to keep the art for the district." Banksy has made art for Valentine's Day before, including a piece that showed up three years ago in Bristol, where the artist is thought to live. Banksy made 50 screenprints in December. These prints will be sold to raise money for a charity that helps the people of Ukraine. The anonymous graffiti artist said before that he had been to Ukraine because he posted a video of an artist spray-painting designs and talking to people in the war-torn country.
Jean Dubreil