2023-05-13 13:50:13
In mid-November, seven Banksy stencils appeared on walls in and around Kyiv. To avoid deterioration, the majority of these works are now covered with protective glass, capable of resisting bullets.
Occupied by Russia from February to April 2022, the town of Borodyanka had been ravaged by fighting from the first days of the invasion. On the wall of a mangled building in the city, a few miles northwest of Kiev, Banksy stenciled a child knocking down a man dressed in judo, one of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s favorite sports .
The work, nicknamed by locals “David against Goliath”, has become a symbol of Ukrainian resistance to Russian bombing. “Banksy’s symbolism speaks to us… The little boy is us, it’s Ukraine. And we are stronger than Russia,” Borodyanka culture director Nataliya Wyschinskaja testified this week. in the 12:45 of the RTS.
Alerting to the excesses of our society and wars is the red thread of Banksy’s work. In 2001, he shone the spotlight on the Zapatista movement in Chiapas, Mexico. In 2005, he traveled to Gaza to denounce the injustices in Palestine and in 2017 he opened the Walled-Off Hotel, a museum-hotel in Bethlehem.
>> Also listen to the Point J podcast episode on Banksy:
Works worth several million francs
To protect Banksy’s work, Borodyanka built a pavilion around the stencil equipped with an alarm system. Its price is indeed in millions of francs, Banksy being today one of the ten most highly rated artists in the world of contemporary art. The future of “David versus Goliath” is now up in the air. “I think it’s better to leave it here. The site is part of Banksy’s message,” said Svetlana, a resident of the city.
In Gostomel, another stencil, which represents an individual wearing a gas mask standing on a chair, was the subject of an attempted theft. Individuals had cut the wall of the house on which the work had been carried out. But the thieves were caught.
Protected or displaced
As for the “Old man in the bath”, famous throughout Ukraine, it will remain on its original site. “The graffiti will be protected with bulletproof glass. The building will be renovated and inhabited”, explains the mayor of Gostomel Serhij Borisjuk.
For its part, the city of Irpin has also secured “Banksy’s Gymnast” with protective glass and an alarm system. But the work cannot remain, because the building must be demolished. “We are going to install the work on Literature Square. It will thus be accessible for our citizens and visitors”, indicated the mayor of Irpin Oleksandr Markuschyn.
“Banksy’s Gymnast” at Irpin. [Maxym Marusenko/NurPhoto) – afp]
On the other hand, on the Maidan square in kyiv, the work is not protected. The two children, as if playing with the anti-tank protections, recall with humor that one day perhaps, the cries of the children will resound again instead of the sirens of the bombardments.
TV Subject: Anne Delaite with SRF
Adaptation web: Valentin Jordil
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