| By :
Martin Hofschroer
A painting in the window display of a new Banksy-backed gallery is set to cause controversy. The new Marks & Stencils gallery in Soho features a black and white picture by artist Mark Sinckler which shows the wreckage of bus blown up during the London 7/7 terrorist attacks with renaissance-style angels flying out of it. Victims' families and the general public are expected to protest about the artistic depiction of the bus which was destroyed in Tavistock Square as part of the attacks that claimed a total of 52 civilian lives. Channel 4 News presenter Krishnan Guru-Murthy wrote on his blog that the painting is likely to provoke a contrasting set of responses due to the emotional subject of the work. He said: "Others will find it thought provoking and even beautiful. It will certainly stir a debate about using such an image from an horrific tragedy like the 7/7 bombings for what is essentially a commercial project." Mr Sinckler has called his work "Age of Shiva" and said that he created the piece in order to shock the general public into thinking about the potential effects of faith and religion. He told the Press Association: "What I'm trying to do is to make anyone that has a faith, a belief, or an idea they hold close to their heart to think about the impact of these ideas when they leave their heads." Age of Shiva is part of a series called Faiths and Physicality and will hang alongside Banksy prints at the London gallery which will open for the next four weeks leading up to Christmas. Bansky told Sky News that he has disguised the gallery as a home furnishings store because people enjoy shopping more than they enjoy art and it was a chance for them to see some "less-refined culture" while soaking up Soho. Meanwhile, the new owner of a seaside hotel which greatly increased in value thanks to the surprise addition of Banksy graffiti has pledged to protect the artwork. Mark Jenkins, who recently acquired Torquay's Grosvenor Hotel, told the Herald Express that he plans to provide special glass to defend the eight foot high graffiti of a robot next to a kneeling boy wearing a cardboard box on his head. The graffiti incorporates an extractor fan fixed to an outside wall which represents the robot's eyes and could have added up to £150,000 onto the overall value of the hotel.
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