McDonalds has ordered the iconic 'My City My Shirt' mural in Butetown, Cardiff, to be repainted after an outcry on social media at the fact that it had been removed earlier on today.
Located at Mischief’s Café Bar, James Street, the mural was a recreation of a photo taken by local artist Shawqi Hasson, as part of his “My City, My Shirt” photography project with fellow Cardiff creative Yusuf Ismail.
Local resident, Cathy Owens, had spotted it being painted over and had shared a video on Twitter.
Live update. Feel a bit sorry for these guys. Only doing a job. But sad to watch. pic.twitter.com/ISsRe8ss80
— Cathy Owens (@cathy_owens) January 22, 2022
She described it as "the worst thing you can imagine is happening right now to the best mural in Cardiff".
How the mural on the side of Mischief's now looks. Photo: Rebecca Wilks
"It's astonishing that something so beautiful can disappear so quickly," Cathy told The National.
"I'm sure McDonald's haven't realised the sensitivity of painting over the most beautiful mural in Cardiff. I hope they can respond positively because there are so many ways in which we can help the young people of this community express themselves in a positive way."
After a public outcry, McDonald's responded on Twitter, signalling that it wanted the original artists to re-paint their mural.
The site was hired by a third party working with the artist who painted the original mural. We were unaware of what was on the site prior to our installation and have instructed the artist to repaint his original mural immediately.
— McDonald's UK (@McDonaldsUK) January 22, 2022
The woman in the series that the mural featured is Maimuna Yoncana, who moved to Cardiff five years ago from Guinea-Bissau in West Africa.
This photo of Maimuna Yoncana was the basis for the mural. Photo: Shawqi Hasson
“I was grabbing some coffee, and I saw her. We’re both Black, but there are all these subtle nuances to Black skin. She was just glowing,” Yusuf Ismail told our reporter Rebecca Wilks at the time.
“I walked over to explain the project – I’m sure she didn’t really grasp what I meant. I was rambling.”
Fortunately, she agreed to be photographed. Maimuna was heavily pregnant, and posed in the Cardiff shirt with a hand resting on her bump. She gave birth less than a month later, to a baby girl.
How the mural on the side of Mischief's used to look. Photo: Rebecca Wilks
Additional reporting by Rebecca Wilks.
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