Kemp Town Aids memorial vandalised

The Tay sculpture in New Steine Gardens, Brighton, has been covered in black marker pen.

The words “RIP Wish” and “Love ya Wish” were scrawled all over its plinth.

Tay was designed by Romany Mark Bruce as a place for those who have been affected by Aids to reflect and remember.

But members of the public were devastated when they found the memorial had been vandalised last Friday.

The Tay Aids memorial with graffiti on its plinth

“It’s disappointing, and thankfully it’s only happened a few times,” said Romany, who lives opposite the statue.

“It’s disappointing given it is a memorial for people to come and reflect.

“I spotted it last week and reported it to the council.”

The meaning of the writing is not known, though it appears to have been written in a person’s memory.

“I have no idea, I cannot figure it out,” said Romany.

The front of the plinth

One person who saw the graffiti went on social media to say: “It is a sad indictment on our society that people feel it's OK to do that.”

The Argus contacted Brighton and Hove City Council, which is responsible for cleaning graffiti from monuments around the city.

A spokesman for the council said: “We hadn’t previously been made aware of the graffiti on the New Steine memorial.

All sides were covered

“If you see hate-based or offensive graffiti or stickering, please report it through our environmental enforcement hotline.”

By Thursday, the graffiti had been removed by the city council.

The Aids memorial is particularly significant this year as it is 40 years since the first case in the city.

The first Aids death in Brighton was recorded in 1984.

In December 2021, an exhibition showing images of people living with HIV was held which aimed to reduce stigma around the virus.

The statue has now been cleaned, after all sides were covered in black pen

The collection of 25 portraits, coinciding with World Aids Day on December 1, was on display at the Jubilee Library in Jubilee Street, Brighton, as well as on digital screens in other libraries across Brighton and Hove.