Elusive British street artist Banksy may have been ‘caught’ painting a mural on a destroyed building in Ukraine.
CCTV footage doing the rounds on Ukrainian TikTok shows a mask-wearing man sneaking up to a wall in the city of Irpin, near Kyiv, before ‘painting’ on it.
While the footage appears to be a heavily staged spoof, it is possible it still shows Banksy – whose true identity has never been revealed.
The Irpin artwork, which shows a ballerina in a neck-brace, has been confirmed as a genuine Banksy and is one of seven he has painted in Ukraine in recent days.
The idea of spoofing a video of himself being ‘caught’ is in keeping with Banksy’s mischievous sense of humour.
Staged CCTV footage doing the rounds on Ukrainian TikTok shows a man sneaking up to a wall in the city of Irpin before ‘painting’ a Banksy on it
While the footage is heavily staged and the painting is obviously not happening live, it is still possible the British street artist spoofed it himself – in keeping with his sense of humour
The Irpin artwork – showing a ballerina in a neck-brace – has been confirmed as a genuine Banksy and is one of seven painted in Ukraine in recent days
Other works painted by Banksy in Ukraine include a man in a bathtub – who bears a passing resemblance to Charles Darwin – painted inside a destroyed apartment in Horenka, a village five miles north-east of Irpin.
Another painted on the walls of a destroyed school in the town of Borodyanka, west of Irpin, shows a child flipping an adult man on to his back in a judo match.
The male figure appears to be Vladimir Putin – who holds a judo back belt.
More works include a mobile missile launcher that incorporates a crude drawing of a penis where the rocket should be, children playing on a tank trap as if it were a see-saw, and a woman in hair curlers and a gas mask holding a fire extinguisher.
Banksy confirmed their authenticity in a video released on his Instagram account, entitled ‘in solidarity with the people of Ukraine’.
Included in the footage is a woman and her daughter outside the bombed-out school, after the judo mural had been painted.
She says: ‘It was a bomb here and many people died.
‘My child used to go to this kindergarten. Don’t cry honey, we already cried so much, we don’t have any tears left.’
An artwork confirmed to be by Banksy on a street in Kyiv shows a Russian missile launcher with a crudely drawn penis in place of the rocket
Another of Banksy’s Ukraine artworks shows a woman with hair curlers and a robe on, wearing a gas mask and holding a fire extinguisher near a burned-out building
Painted on the wall of a nursery destroyed by a Russian bomb, this Banksy shows a child throwing a man who resembles Putin in a judo match – a sport in which he has a black belt
Banksy began his unconventional artistic career as a graffiti artist in Bristol in the 1990s, and came to prominence painting satirical, political murals on buildings.
His signature style became black and white portraits painted using stencils, often showing human or animal figures performing an action or interacting with the world around them.
Some of his most well known works oppose conflict, including a portrait of a man hurling a bouquet of flowers – painted on the West Bank Wall which separates Jerusalem from Israel.
He is also known for playing with the idea of fake vs real.
During a residency in New York in 2013 he set up what appeared to be a tourist-trap stall in Central Park selling what seemed like replicas of his work for $60 a piece.
Except that the stall was real, and the artworks were genuine.
Despite being in place for a full day, just one customer bought two prints which later raised in excess of $100,000 when sold at auction.
Another piece that toyed with a similar idea and the worth of art was a print of ‘Girl With Balloon’ that partially shredded itself while being auctioned.
The half-destroyed artwork later went back on auction, and sold for many times its initial guide price.
Another of Banksy’s new artworks in Ukraine shows a man who bears a passing resemblance to Charles Darwin having a bath in a destroyed house
A dancer also features in this piece by Banksy, painted in the town of Borodyanka, which shows the female figure balancing on top of rubble
Two children appear to be playing on a tank trap as if on a see-saw in this Banksy work, which appeared in downtown Kyiv
Banksy’s Ukraine artworks appeared in cities and towns devastated by Russia’s nine-month long war in Ukraine.
Irpin, where the ballerina with the neck brace appeared, was the site of some of the worst atrocities committed by Putin’s troops.
Hundreds of civilians were massacred during a months-long occupation after Russian forces were stopped there while trying to advance on Kyiv.
When Putin’s troops retreated they left behind evidence of their war crimes, including mass graves, torture chambers, and civilian bodies lying in the streets.
Ukraine is continuing to drive back the Kremlin’s troops on the battlefield, with recent retreats coming in the south and north-east.
Russian forces fled from the area around Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city, in September and recently withdrew from the city of Kherson.
Around half of the territory occupied by Moscow’s armies at the peak of the invasion has now been recaptured, with Kyiv asking for more weapons to get the job done.
At the top of the list is anti-aircraft batteries to protect against increased Russia air strikes, but Ukraine also wants attack jets and tanks to help with its offensives.
Who IS Banksy? Theories of who the mystery artist could be…and why he has never been spotted
By Olivia Devereux-Evans for MailOnline
The identity of Banksy, a street artist from Bristol, whose career began in the 90s, has never been known or announced but numerous theories have been suggested about who he might be.
His works are world famous and have been seen all over the globe, including New York, Paris and Bethlehem. At auction, his popular works sell for huge profits.
He uses his art to make statements on societal issues and politics. When he began to make graffiti art, he worked across his hometown, spraying his tag.
Banksy evolved with the times, beginning to make more sophisticated works. He then became the elusive street artist that we know him as today.
One of his earliest works is the The Mild Mild West. The large mural was painted in 1999 in Bristol’s Stokes Croft and shows a teddy bear throwing a Molotov cocktail at three riot police.
It was painted by the artist over three days in broad daylight and is still in the city today, among some of his other works.
One of his earliest works is the The Mild Mild West. The large mural was painted in 1999 in Bristol’s Stokes Croft and shows a teddy bear throwing a Molotov cocktail at three riot police
Other works he has designed include the Balloon Girl (2002), pictured, Kissing Coppers (2004), Love is in the Bin (2006) and Devolved Parliament (2009)
Other works he has designed include the Balloon Girl (2002), Kissing Coppers (2004), Love is in the Bin (2006) and Devolved Parliament (2009).
Also during his career, he opened the Walled Off Hotel in Bethlehem in 2017. The hotel faces the eight-metre high concrete wall that was built by Israel to separate the Palestinian territories.
Reported ‘sightings’ of Banksy over the years
2020- One recent sighting was apparently of the street artist wearing PPE while on the London Underground.
2018- A passerby allegedly saw him near one of his works in Hull.
2017- A woman filmed an artist working in an Israeli mall. It was around the same time that Banksy had opened an exhibition in Bethlehem. The man being filmed seemed concerned and covered his face when he realised he was on camera.
2017- British artist James Ame was caught with a Banksy stencil and a spray can.
2016- An artist was furious to be filmed on the way back from the club in Melbourne- it sparked rumours that he was Banksy.
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And in the same year, he opened the Dismaland Bemusement Park in Weston-super-Mare, a theme park interspersed with his artworks.
Theories on who he might be are rife. One suggestion, which is one of the more popular, suggests that the artist is Robin Gunningham.
The artist was born just outside of Bristol in 1973. Their former school mates have said they think he is Banksy, as he was a talented illustrator who drew cartoons. Their suggestion seems to be possible as the artist has previously said he first liked drawing when he was at school.
Rumours swirled that Gunningham could be Banksy after an image of him went viral. He was clutching a spray can and stencils.
It is a supported theory which has become increasingly popular. Some seem to believe Gunningham is Banksy.
One person who seemed convinced bought a piece by the relatively unknown artist for £4,000 in 2018. It was an album sleeve for the Bristol-based ska band Mother Samosa’s Oh My God It’s Cheeky Clown. The album sleeve has similarities to Banksy’s style.
Eager researchers tried to link Banksy to Gunningham in 2016, finally solving the mystery once and for all. The criminologists at Queen Mary University were set to use geographic profiling usually reserved for linking criminals to crimes to work out if they were the same man.
But that research was delayed as the mysterious artist’s lawyers voiced concerns about press coverage of the study to the university. It was set to be called Tagging Banksy.
It has never been confirmed or denied by Gunningham or his representatives if he is Banksy.
Theories have been floated of other potential figures who could be Banksy, including Massive Attack’s Robert Del Naja.
He is a graffiti artist who has done work in Bristol under the name of 3D. Banksy has named 3D of one of his early inspirations.
The assumption that Robert could be Banksy was first discussed after DJ Goldie reportedly said his name on a podcast while talking about him. He said: ‘No disrespect to Rob, I think he is a brilliant artist. I think he has flipped the world of art over.’
Fans have also claimed to have spotted Banksy artworks in the same cities as where Massive Attack played-twice. But Robert has denied the claims publicly.
Theories have been floated of other potential figures who could be Banksy, including Massive Attack’s Robert Del Naja. Fans have also claimed to have spotted Banksy artworks in the same cities as where Massive Attack played-twice. But Robert, pictured, has denied the claims publicly
It has also been suggested that Jamie Hewlett, who founded the Gorillaz, could be Banksy. This was because an anonymous forensic expert allegedly linked him to every company associated with the street artist.
Also, Banksy has designed work used in the Gorillaz music videos in the past. But it has been denied by his publicist.
And another theory that Banksy is popular television artist Neil Buchanan, who fronted children’s show Art Attack in the 1990s has also been suggested before.
The claim gained traction on social media because a fan noticed that Banksy’s art was popping up in locations where Neil had performed his music but his representatives denied it.
People have also alleged that they have caught a glimpse of Banksy numerous times over the years but nothing has ever been proved due to the mystery shrouding his identity.
Nothing has ever been discovered about how his works are designed either- whether he does them alone or has a team.
And another theory that Banksy is popular television artist Neil Buchanan, pictured, who fronted children’s show Art Attack in the 1990s has also been suggested before. The claim gained traction on social media because a fan noticed that Banksy’s art was popping up in locations where Neil had performed his music but his representatives denied it
One recent sighting was apparently of the street artist wearing PPE while on the London Underground.
And in 2018, it was claimed that a passerby had seen him near one of his works in Hull.
Meanwhile, in April 2017, a woman saw an artist in an Israeli mall who was working. The artist had recently opened an exhibition in Bethlehem. She filmed the man, who seemed concerned and covered his face when he realised he was on camera.
In October 2016, an artist furious he was being filmed was captured on camera on the way home from the club in Melbourne- it sparked rumours that he was Banksy.
He usually paints at night and without permission and his work is often classified as criminal damage because of this. He will later say that the art is his online.
