November 7 2022: Banksy, whose work can sell for millions of dollars on the art market, confirmed he had painted the mural and six others last month in places that were badly affected by post Russia's invasion.
A group of people attempted to peel off a mural by graffiti artist Banksy in Ukraine. They tried to cut it off from a dilapidated, battle scarred wall, the governor of Kyiv said.
The mural, which depicted a woman in a nightgown wearing a gas mask and holding a fire extinguisher, had suddenly appeared on the side of a scorched building. Some people had managed to peel it off the wall.
But they were spotted at the scene in the city of Hostomel near Kyiv and the mural was retrieved, the governor of Kyiv said in a statement. The image was still intact and police were protecting it, he added.
"These images are, after all, symbols of our struggle against the enemy ... We'll do everything to preserve these works of street art as a symbol of our victory," he said.
But Who is Bansky?
Banksy is a London based graffiti master, painter, activist, and filmmaker whose real identity is still unknown and is the subject of speculation.
His works started appearing on the London streets from around 2011, and have been seen widely as symbols of class struggle and as expressions against oppression.
With some of the biggest celebrities as his fans, Banksy is considered among one of the world's most popular artists.
His works have sold for huge amounts of money, with customers including Paul Smith, Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie and Christina Aguilera.
When Time magazine selected Banksy for its list of the world’s 100 most influential people in 2010, he shared a picture of himself with a paper bag over his head.
Excerpts from the article in TIME magazine on Bansky-
He has a gift: an ability to make almost anyone very uncomfortable. He doesn't ignore boundaries; he crosses them to prove their irrelevance.
Banksy's work embodies everything I like about art. It's accessible, public, not locked away. He makes social and political statements with a sense of humor
He has painted walls in Vienna, San Francisco, Barcelona, Paris and Detroit. Bansky's documentary Exit Through the Gift Shop was nominated for an Academy Award and Bafta.
Below are the 2 most expensive artwork by Banksy
Sold by Sotheby’s London, Love is in the Bin is the partly shredded version of Girl with Balloon painting. It is Banksy’s most expensive physical artwork sold at an auction for USD 1.4 million (INR 11,55,66,500) in October 2018. Immediately after the painting was sold, a shredder hidden in the frame was switched on immediately and half the painting went through the shredder. This stunt made headlines across the world and came as a shock to art world.
Picture source: TWITTER/ Bansky
Banksy's donated his artwork, named Game Changer, to the Southampton General Hospital, Hampshire, England, in the month of May 2020 as his tribute to healthcare workers.
The Game Changer is a black-and-white sketch where a boy is playing with a doll dressed in the Red Cross uniform. The cape of the doll represents healthcare workers as the real superhero and shows the boy recognizing them as the real super hero instead of the fictional characters of Spiderman and Batman which can be seen in a bin. This artwork was done during the pandemic and as a tribute to the healthcare workers who saved people by working selflessly and relentlessly.
The Game Changer artwork was eventually sold in March 2011 for GBP 14,400,000 (approximately INR 1,44,17,01,963) making it the second most expensive Banksy artworks sold at auctions.
Before the auction, Christie’s announced the proceeds from the sale will be used to support the “well-being of University Hospital Southampton staff and patients.”
Source: Lifestyle Asia.
Picture source: TWITTER/ Bansky
Since, Banksy has not revealed his identity to public, there are a lot of speculation wether it is an individual or a group of people who paint these wall murals without getting noticed.
Back to the main article:
Banksy confirmed he had painted the mural and six others last month in places that were badly affected by heavy fighting after Russia invaded Ukraine in late February.
Russia's war in Ukraine is now in its tenth month. Moscow's forces were pushed back from around Kyiv in the first phase of the war, but fighting rages on in the east and south.
