Banksy's work in Ukraine

Banksy's work in Ukraine

  On the 11th , a pseudonymous England-based street artist, Banksy uploaded three pictures of a mural depicting a gymnast balancing on a handstand on her Instagram and posted the caption “Borodyanka, Ukraine”.

  ​Borodyanka, northwest of Kiev, the capital of Ukraine, was hit hard by Russian bombing in February of this year, at the beginning of the war. Russian forces occupied the area shortly after the outbreak of war and retreated in April.

This place, where a lot of civilian damage occurred, such as the discovery of mass graves, is in the midst of reconstruction after the Russian army withdrew. The mural Banksy shared was painted on the remains of buildings destroyed by bombing.

  ​Banksy is a graffiti artist who paints murals on streets and buildings in cities around the world.

​  His work, which does not reveal his face or real name, satirizes anti-war, environmental pollution, refugees, and child poverty.

  Every time I look at his graffiti, I think of beautiful weeds that bloom without names on the streets. How can such a beautiful flower grow in such a messy and dark alley? I think of this when I see the weeds growing between the sidewalk blocks in a dark back alley. However, Banksy's work resembles these weeds a lot. Just as the vivid beauty seen in the flower of an unknown weed illuminates a messy alley where not even a single ray of light enters, his works have a strange vitality and energy.

  ​Looking at the murals presumed to be his work in the ruins of Ukraine, people pray for the day when the war will end soon and the spring of peace will come and Ukrainian children will happily play gymnastics and sing songs.