Oh Thank God, Banksy Is In Ukraine
The war in Ukraine is, to put it lightly, a deep and absolute nightmare both in the loss of human life and the relentless, constant updates of the newest nightmare Russia has cooked up. And just in case that wasn’t quite enough to cause a dull sense of compounding doom squarely behind your forehead, we now have news that stray Russian missiles have hit and killed civilians in Poland, just to really make sure everyone in the world is on pins and needles. Thankfully, the one thing that could possibly untangle the violent Gordian knot that is the Ukraine conflict has finally arrived: Banksy is in Ukraine.
Street artist Banksy, the modern-day philosopher responsible for such revolutionary statements as “if guns were flowers the world would be a nicer place,” is apparently in the country. Sure, your family and friends are in constant mortal danger if not already deceased, but now, Ukrainians, you have the chance to change your perspective through political art with the depth of cheesecloth. Banksy is here to open the world’s eyes, with a couple of spray cans and the critical thinking of a political meme screenshotted onto your aunt’s phone from a facebook group.
Wipe the soot from your eyes, downtrodden masses of Ukraine, and behold the thing that will bring you back to the light: a picture of a ballerina. Don’t you see? Even though that building is destroyed, likely along with anyone you know who might have been in the vicinity… something something ballet. Look, I know we all loved Banksy for a while. Coincidentally, we were all in high school for a while. It was also during an era where political art had to do almost no heavy lifting at all, versus the napalm-laden spiderweb that the political sphere is now. Spraypainting a picture of a girl holding balloons on a bomb shelter feels a little less necessary when the bomb shelter is full of actual little girls.
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I do have one recommendation for how this could actually help a population at war, however. If you live in Ukraine, and see some stenciled picture of a crying bomb or whatever near you, chisel that shit out and flip it at Sotheby’s for some tech CEO’s living room. That should give you a couple mil to spend on plate carriers so your relatives can stay alive.
Top Image: Public Domain/Pexels
