We may not know for sure the identity of Banksy, the English street artist famous for his social-commentary graffiti murals inspired and integrated with their surroundings. But given his apparent interests, we might have suspected him to turn up in Ukraine sooner or later. Recently posted by Banksy himself, the video above shows him at work in the region of Kyiv, the Ukrainian capital, each of which makes a visual comment on this year’s Russian invasion and the fortitude Ukraine’s people have shown against it. “As is typical of Banksy’s work,” writes The Art Newspaper‘s Torey Akers, “the artist’s edits combine a satirist’s edge for winking commentary with a sincere investment in political solidarity.”

Smithsonian.com’s Jacquelyne Germain describes a few of Banksy’s new works in Ukraine, beginning with two in the nearly abandoned town of Borodyanka. “Painted on the side of a crumbling building,” one piece “depicts a gymnast doing a handstand on a pile of rubble.”

In another, “a young boy flips an older man onto his back in […]

André Hörmann and Anna Samo’s short animation, Obon, opens on a serene scene – a quiet forest, anda red torii gate framing moonlight on the water.

But then we notice that the water is choked with bodies, victims of the bombing of Hiroshima.

Akiko Takakura, whose reminiscences inspired the film, arrived for work at the Hiroshima Bank just minutes before the Enola Gay dropped the atomic bomb “Little Boy” over the city, killing some 80,000 instantly.

Takakura-san, who had been cleaning desks and mooning over a cute co-worker with her fellow junior bank employee Satomi Usami when the bomb hit, was one of the 10 people within a radius of 500 meters from ground zero to have survived .

(Usami-san, who fought her way out of the wreckage with her friend’s assistance, later succumbed to her injuries.)

Animator Samo, whose style harkens to traditional woodcuts, based her depiction of the horrors confronting the two young women when they emerge from the bank on the drawings of survivors:

Without craft or artistry to hide behind, the […]

If you follow us on Twitter, and if you’re concerned about the mounting levels of chaos inside the company, then find us on Mastodon, where we now also share our daily posts, plus favorites from our archive. You can start following Open Culture on Mastodon here, or get our posts via Daily Email and RSS Feed.

If you’re not already familiar with Mastodon, you can explore these resources:

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