Queen Elizabeth tribute defaced a third time in as many weeks, following her death

Unidentified Sydneysiders have defaced a Marrickville artist’s portrait of the late Queen three times since it’s debut in the inner-city suburb.

Self-proclaimed painters have disfigured a Sydney street-artist’s tribute to Queen Elizabeth for a third time in almost as many weeks, by splashing dark paint over the already modified artwork.

Stuart Sale, a Marrickville-based mixed-media artist and business owner, painted the portrait of the late monarch as a young royal at the start of the month, just hours after news broke about Her Majesty’s death.

But within three weeks of the mural’s existence on Marrickville’s Sydenham Road, the artwork has since undergone a series of adaptations, receiving mixed reviews from the public.

The recent addition to the artwork follows vandals painting what Sale described as a “horrible” epithet within days of its emergence.

Soon after, the painting was reinvented for a second time with the late monarch’s face blotched in yellow paint and a black and red background to reflect the Aboriginal flag.

The alteration emerged in line with protesters setting fire to Australian flags just hours after a national memorial service was held to mourn the Queen last Thursday.

Now, in what some may interpret as an abstract rendition of Her Majesty, black paint seemingly appears to have been poured down the centre of the piece disfiguring both the portrait and Aboriginal flag addition.

All that remains is an outline of Queen Elizabeth’s head and crown.

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Before and after shots revealing the extent of damage done to Sale's mural after it was defaced several times. Picture: Instagram @stuartsale/Reddit @some_tenno

While some locals have contrasting views on the portrait, Sale told news.com.au that the addition of the Aboriginal flag to his piece made the portrait “more powerful”.

“Quite an important conversation has come about from the reworking of (the painting) with the indigenous flag, which I thought was really powerful and made the work that I originally made, more powerful than I could have ever hoped it would have been,” he said.

“So I didn’t think that was vandalism. It was a reworking, like street art it had the ability to be reworked and be reborn in a conversation to move forward.”

However after seeing the addition of the black paint spilling down the middle of his art, Sales said he no longer knows what to think.

“It’s basically back to vandalism now,” he said. “I’m not really sure why someone would want to do that or what they’re trying to say.”

“This isn’t even really seen as a reworking, it’s just a splash of paint all over it.”

Sale said his intentions behind the piece, which was crafted using a stencilling technique, was to “document” a historical moment.

But not all people perceived it that way with some seeing it as a political statement perhaps contributing to the Aboriginal flag addition.

As for the future of the portrait, Sale remains unsure about whether he should repaint over it or to wait and see what happens with it next.

“I really don’t know whether I should go and repaint it. I’m just really not sure.”

The Inner West Council also added that since it didn’t commission the painting, it’s up to the building owner and artist to determine the portrait’s fate.

A Sydneysider has shared a picture of the local artwork’s current state online via Reddit, which has attracted more than 5.3 thousand upvotes and almost 900 comments.

It’s certainly caused a stir online as viewers voice their opinion on what they think about the portrait being repainted several times.

“I have no love for the monarchy but defacing the portrait of the recently deceased is of poor taste no matter what,” read one comment.

“This appears to be a picture of someone’s reaction to the Aboriginal flag. The queen’s portrait was defaced ages ago, the black paint is new,” inferred another.

“All street artists know that their work is temporary, it’s part of the game. Sale must have known that painting a polarising figure, like the Queen, could also limit the life of his work,” said a third.

Meanwhile others thought the mural’s additional features breathed new life into the definition of abstract art.

“I mean I kind of like it?? It still looks artistic. I liked the original one but I think it’s really interesting to watch the evolution. It’s like collaborative art almost,” commented one insightful viewer. “It looks like someone just chucked a bucket of paint at the wall, but it came out interestingly.”

A second person added: “I thought the addition of the indigenous flag colours was clever, the black paint, maybe not so much.”

Stuart Sale painted this mural titled Children of War 2022 not long after Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Picture: Instagram/@stuartsale

Sale also painted a portrait of Shane Warne as a tribute to the late cricketer following his death earlier this year. Picture: Instagram/@stuartsale

The portrait of a young Queen Elizabeth isn’t the only mural Sale has painted across the streets of Sydney’s inner west.

In March, Sale painted a mural titled “Children of War 2022” about a month after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. He then turned his art into a print with all proceeds made from sales donated to the UNICEF Ukraine Emergency Appeal.

Also in tribute to the late cricketer Shane Warne, Sale painted a portrait of the Australian icon on a wall in Faversham Lane, Marrickville, where most of his other paintings reside.

Other famous faces painted by the artist include singer-songwriter David Bowie, actor and former Manchester United player Eric Cantona and late Australian zoo keeper Steve Irwin.

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