If there’s one thing we know for sure about the enigmatic British street artist Banksy, it’s that he never fails to catch people off guard, with his work popping up when and where you might least expect it.
Banksy’s latest urban canvas is war-torn Ukraine, where he has confirmed that he created seven new murals on damaged buildings around the country. Each of them, in true Banksy style, has a clear anti-war message, juxtaposing scenes of everyday life against the destruction of the Russian invasion.
Two of the murals feature gymnasts (one with a neck brace) performing on the rubble, another shows a woman in a bathrobe and hair curlers with a gas mask and a fire extinguisher. Perhaps the most memorable mural depicts a small boy defeating a grown man at judo. The man is rumored to represent Vladimir Putin, responsible for Russia's invasion of Ukraine and a well-known practitioner of judo.
The murals are located in some of Ukraine's hardest-hit locales, including Borodyanka, Irpin, and Kyiv.
What we know, and don’t know, about Banksy:
- Despite being in the public eye for over two decades, creating graffiti artwork all over the world, producing an Oscar-nominated documentary, and launching multiple avant-garde exhibits and art installations, the identity of Banksy remains a mystery.
- What we do know for sure about Banksy is that he got his start in the underground scene in Bristol, England, in the 1990s.
- Although Banksy is famous for stunts such as partially destroying his just-auctioned painting Girl with Balloon with a shredder secretly built into the frame, he is serious about supporting humanitarian and social justice causes. Last year, he auctioned a painting depicting nurses as superheroes that raised over $23 million for charities associated with the UK's National Health Service.
