Works of art by artist Banksy have been appearing in Ukraine in the past few days. The Briton, who keeps his identity secret, now confesses to seven murals in a video and gives an insight into their creation.
Mysterious British street artist Banksy has posted a video on Instagram in which he acknowledges a slew of works in Ukraine. Some of the pictures, most of which were sprayed on the walls of houses, were discovered days ago. Photos of it had made the rounds on social media and caused enthusiasm in the war-torn country. The video is a kind of “making-of” in which Banksy can be seen cutting out stencils and spray-painting – but without showing his face.
The works, mostly in black and white, are then shown: for example, an old man with a long beard sitting in a bathtub in Horenka, scrubbing his back with a large brush. The image is sprayed onto the tiled bathroom wall of a house with a huge gap in the facade. Another work depicts a woman seemingly standing on a chair set against the facade of a burned-out house. She is wearing hair curlers, a gas mask, a dressing gown and is holding a fire extinguisher.
Other images show female gymnasts dancing over the impact hole of a bullet with a waving ribbon or balancing upside down on mountains of rubble. The black outlines of children can be seen on concrete barricades, apparently using a metal anti-tank barrier as a seesaw. The artist spray-painted a rocket launcher onto a rectangular box, the gun of which looks like a penis painted on the wall of a school toilet.
In the ruins of a kindergarten, a young judoka throws an adult fighter – whose physique resembles that of Russian President Vladimir Putin – to the ground. At the end, a lettering is displayed with the words: “In solidarity with the people of Ukraine”.
The identity of the legendary artist remains unknown. It is certain that Banksy is British and comes from Bristol. The artist had previously traveled to crisis areas around the world. Among other things, he protested in the West Bank against the Israeli barriers there.