Kyiv, Velyka Zhytomyrska 13 2022

Banksy made this piece in Kyiv, Ukraine, on Velyka Zhytomyrska 13, using stencils and spray paint. It's a bombed-out scene, a truck, some guys, but then there's this wild, cartoonish phallus shape hovering above it all. The way he works with stencils gives it that instant, graphic punch, but also a kind of flatness. The wall itself is already a surface with history, marks, and textures. He’s not trying to hide that, he's working with it. And then you have this smooth, almost glowing line of the dildo shape, so clean it almost looks like neon. The whole thing is so dark, yet so absurdly funny, even hopeful in a weird way. It reminds me of Barry McGee, how he uses simple marks to convey complex ideas. Ultimately, art is about finding ways to keep the conversation going, to find meaning, even in the darkest of times. It’s not about answers; it’s about opening up questions.