War between Ukraine and RussiafileBanksy, the spirit of street art, confirmed on his Instagram account that he was indeed the author of the drawing that appeared on the ruins of a destroyed building in Borodyanka.
She appears to be dancing on the ruins, her wheel of legs pushing the debris away. Whether it’s a child playing or an experienced gymnast, the tiny figure in a black-and-white leotard appeared over the weekend on a building in Borodyanka, a town devastated by Russian troops west of the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv in the spring.
Street art specter Banksy confirmed on his Instagram account that he is in fact the author of this drawing, whose lightness contrasts with the devastation of the surrounding war, posting three images of his new work with the simple caption, “Borodyanka, Ukraine “.
On Twitter, Ukraine’s Defense Ministry hinted that the British street artist could have done another work in the country. The drawing, which shows a burly judoka being thrown to the ground by a child in a kimono, has not been authenticated by Banksy. The reference to Vladimir Putin seems clear, with the Russian president boasting about his passion for judo, of which he is a black belt.
Doubts also remain about the paternity of this young gymnast, wearing a ruff and photographed in the town of Irpin, a town also not far from the capital.
Banksy’s latest designs date back to the summer of 2021 as he traveled the UK drawing at every turn, including a rat lying in a deckchair sipping a cocktail.
A Bristol-based artist who maintains the mystery of his identity, Banksy enjoys provoking and thought-provoking. In 2005, he painted the Flower Thrower graffiti on a wall in Jerusalem, depicting a masked protester about to throw a bouquet of flowers. The artist used his graffiti bomb to demonstrate his opposition to Brexit, his support for migrants or to warn of the climate emergency.
In 2018 he organized the dismemberment of the girl with a balloon, his famous work, at an auction. Renamed Love is in the Bin, the painting was eventually sold three years later. The painting had since risen in value from £870 to over £16m.