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Sinead Butler
Nov 19, 2022
Only footage of 'Banksy's face' resurfaces online
content.jwplatform.com
The ever-elusive British street artist Banksy may have been captured painting one of several murals that have appeared across war-torn Ukraine.
CCTV footage has recently circulated on Ukrainian TikTok of a mask-wearing man (to protect his identity of course) located in the town of Irpin that has suffered the destructive effects of the war.
In the clip uploaded by TikToker user "this_irpin_grisha", the man wearing black approaches a bombed-out building with a bag and begins to spray what appears to be one of the new works confirmed to be from the popular artist that depicts a gymnast in a neck brace performing a ribbon routine.
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It also seems to be filmed on the same wall where the Banksy mural was created.
@this_irpin_grisha ❗️Бенксі засвітився на камері відеоспостереження в Ірпені? На ютубі з’явилось відео, на якому начебто всесвітньовідомий художник Бенксі, потрапив до об'єктива камери відеоспостереження на районі СМУ в Ірпені, де нещодавно з’явилась одна з його робіт. #banksy #banksyart #art #streetart #irpin #ukraine #kyiv #бенксі #бэнкси #киев #київ
However, people speculated online that the video appears to be a staged parody as the artist is supposedly "caught" on camera as the man looks over his shoulder at the road opposite.
One commenter wrote: "Looks very setup that camera shot."
"Banksy is a stencil artist… Not a free hand," another person commented.
Perhaps it could still be Banksy since the artist’s identity has remained anonymous, with a meta stunt like this reflecting his sense of humour.
(But who knows?)
In the past, videos have been posted to Banksy's Instagram of himself painting on a London tube, and a work in Great Yarmouth.
Banksy confirmed with photos and a video via Instagram that he had travelled to Ukraine this month and shared the several artworks he painted over there including a man in a bathtub on a damaged block of flats in the town of Horenka.
In the city of Borodyanka, a mural appeared of a child flipping a black belt adult man - resembling Russian president Vladimir Putin - onto his back in a judo match.
Two children using a metal tank trap as a seesaw was spray-painted onto a concrete defensive block in Kyiv, while another work also included a woman in hair curlers and a gas mask holding a fire extinguisher.
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