Banksy, the elusive British street artist, has adorned a bombed-out building in Borodyanka, on the outskirts of Kyiv, with a mural, attracting people from all around, many coming with children. The latest piece appeared on the artist鈥檚 Instagram on Friday night, as he posted three images of the work 鈥� an image of a girl performing a handstand 鈥� with the caption 鈥淏orodyanka, Ukraine.鈥� (Agence France-Presse)
BORODYANKA, Ukraine 聽鈥� Renowned graffiti artist Banksy unveiled a work in the Ukrainian town of Borodyanka, which had been occupied by Russia until April and heavily damaged by fighting in the early days of Moscow鈥檚 invasion of its neighbor.
Banksy posted a photo of the mural 鈥� a girl gymnast performing a handstand on a small pile of concrete rubble 鈥� on Instagram late on Friday. The work was painted onto the wall of a building destroyed by shelling.
At least one other piece of new graffiti in Banksy鈥檚 signature style, although not posted by the mercurial artist on social media, was spotted in Borodyanka, portraying a man being flipped in judo by a much smaller child.
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The symbolism of that piece was unmistakable: an allusion to the biblical story of David and Goliath, the unlikely triumph of the underdog, as well as a nod to Russian President Vladimir Putin鈥檚 much-publicized love of the Japanese martial art.
Several curious onlookers came to see the artwork, some of whom had made the 60 km drive from Ukraine鈥檚 capital city, Kyiv.
鈥淭his is such a historic moment for our country, that people like Banksy and other famous figures are coming here and showing the world what Russia has done to us,鈥� said one of the visiting Kyivans, 31-year-old Alina Mazur.