ArtDependence | Belgian Author and Art Expert Chronicles Banksy Graffiti in Ukraine

Belgian author and art connoisseur Marc Pairon (64) visited the area around the Ukrainian capital several times. In the new art book ‘BANKSY IN UKRAINE – F*CK PTN!’, he gives an overview of the seven Banksy graffiti. The book was written in Flanders but printed and published in Ukraine. The Ukrainian postal company Ukrposhta handles the international distribution of the books. The proceeds from the sale of this art book will go entirely to the reconstruction of Ukrainian schools (www.rebuild-ua.world). The official release of the book takes place on 24 February 2024, day to day two years after the Russian invasion. “It is a serene tribute to all Ukrainian children,” Pairon explains. “After all, they are the main victims of the war.” In Kyiv, Banksy, whose identity has remained a closely guarded secret, painted “On the Seesaw”. The work depicts two children playing on an anti-tank obstacle. Elsewhere in the capital, he integrated an earlier graffiti work into the mural ‘Military Transport’.  On a damaged building in Irpin, Banksy painted ‘Rhythmic Gymnastics’. A gymnast dances with a brace around her neck above a large hole in the wall. In Horenka, ‘The bather’ popped up, an old, bearded man in a...