Greta Thunberg mural in Edmonton defaced 2 days after being created

A mural of climate activist Greta Thunberg painted by an Edmonton artist has been defaced, within two days of being painted.

Street artist AJA Louden told Global News on Saturday he had painted the mural Friday morning to keep the conversation going after the 16-year-old Swedish activist visited Edmonton and gave an impassioned speech on the same day.

By Sunday afternoon, several layers of graffiti had been painted over the piece, including a French slur.

The wall that the piece was initially painted on is a “free wall space” at 105 Avenue and 97 Street, and is meant to serve as an ongoing street art installation.

On Saturday, Louden praised the wall and said it allows artists to “speak to the city.” He said he hoped his piece would become a talking point.

“The climate crisis is a really complicated problem,” Louden said on Saturday.

“Trying to deny it is a problem or to retreat into these entrenched ideological camps where you don’t believe it exists… I think that’s problematic.”

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After giving her speech to the massive crowd at a climate protest in Edmonton Friday, Thunberg travelled to Fort McMurray. She met with leaders from the Mikisew Cree and Athabasca Chipewyan First Nations on Saturday along with a documentary crew from the BBC. The crew is filming a documentary on oilsands development and climate change.

Louden could not be reached for comment following the defacing.