A graffiti artist from the states, who works under the name ‘Above’, has put up a mural protesting the sale of “blood diamonds” in Johannesburg, on the east wall of Jewel City.

The Californian artist has since revealed that he duped both Arts on Main and business owners in the Jewel City area into endorsing the work by concealing its true intent.

The provocative mural is a simple sentence writ large in black and white paint on the east wall of the high-security, four block complex which serves as the largest diamond trading platform in SA.

It reads: ”Diamonds are a woman’s best friend but a man’s worst enemy”.

Apparently, the artist had obtained permission to write the part about woman, but not the bit about man. Consequently, the owners of Jewel City have decided to remove the piece.

Writing on the graffiti blog 12ozProphet, Above (whose true identity remains unknown) explained why he chose Jewel City as the location for his piece: “Jewel City is the largest diamond exporter in the southern hemisphere, with over R7-billion worth of diamonds being exported every year.”

He confessed to having deceived the diamond traders into providing him with the canvas he needed to express his distaste with their industry.

“What the owners didn’t know is that I lied to them and was hijacking their wall. I assume the owners were so busy trading diamonds inside the mega centre that they never took the time to come out and see that I was painting a controversial word-play about the diamond trade and how it’s fuelled so much bloodshed in wars, making it one of man’s worst enemies.”

Speaking to TimesLIVE,  Iain Nicol, an asset manager at Redefine Properties (owners of the Jewel City complex), said that the mural will be removed from sight ”as soon as possible”.

Nicol said that Above’s critique was “unfair”, and that the nearly 300 diamond and precious metals companies that work out of Jewel City obtained their diamonds from “legitimate sources”

“It is not correct for that kind of a mural to go up,” he said. “Permission wasn’t asked; it’s unfair, and it’s a security risk.”

Above has been working as a street artist and social commentator for over fifteen years, and is known for his provocative take on social and political issues.

According to Hayleigh Evans, the brand manager for Maboneng, the organisation that oversees the Arts on Main project, the mural will soon be covered by the work of local artists

“We support Jewel City in this. We do not feel that the piece is appropriate for a permanent work,” she said.

Check out Above’s Clip of the Mural on Vimeo Below.

Source: Vimeo

Homepage Screenshot courtey of Vimeo

Other pic courtesy of Facebook