Amid the war ruins in Ukraine, Banksy seeds art

Category: Lifestyle/Entertainment

Listening

Unlocking Word Meanings

Read the following words/expressions found in today’s article.

  1. pop up / pɒp ʌp / (phrasal v.) – to appear or happen suddenly or unexpectedly
    Example:

    Stores gradually popped up along the busy street since the holiday season started.


  2. wrecked / rɛkt / (adj.) – badly damaged or destroyed that it cannot be repaired
    Example:

    The shore is lined with the debris of wrecked houses after the storm.


  3. hulk / hʌlk / (n.) – the main part of something that is broken and is no longer used
    Example:

    Almost everything was burned down. The only remains were the hulks of the factory.


  4. practitioner / prækˈtɪʃ ə nər / (n.) – someone who often does an activity that requires skill or practice
    Example:

    She is an Aikido practitioner.


  5. pirouette / ˌpɪr uˈɛt / (n.) – a movement in which one stands on one foot and does a fast body spin
    Example:

    The students learned how to do perfect pirouettes in their ballet class.


Article

Read the text below.

Amid the ruins of war, the flowerings of art.


A delicate painting of a gymnast doing a handstand has popped up on the wall of a wrecked building outside of Kyiv and appears to be the work of the British graffiti artist known as Banksy.


Banksy posted photos on his Instagram page of the artwork in Borodyanka, northwest of Ukraine’s capital.


The town was the target of shelling and fighting in the early stages of the Russian invasion, which turned apartment buildings into charred, bombed-out hulks.


The mural of the gymnast is in black and white and is painted so she looks like she is doing her handstand on the crumpled remains of concrete blocks that poke out of the blackened wall. Towering above her are the gutted, blown-apart innards of what were once apartments.


Another mural in the town — of a small boy doing a judo throw on a man — also looked like it might be Banksy’s, although that wasn’t posted on his Instagram page.


President Vladimir Putin of Russia is a judo practitioner.


A Banksy-like painting, also in black and white and again not confirmed as his by Banksy himself, also appeared on the wall of a war-damaged building in the town of Irpin, on Kyiv’s northwestern outskirts.


It shows a rhythmic gymnast doing a pirouette with a ribbon, over a gaping hole in the wall.


This article was provided by The Associated Press.


Viewpoint Discussion

Enjoy a discussion with your tutor.

Discussion A

  • The murals feature a gymnast doing a handstand, a small boy doing a judo throw, and a gymnast doing a pirouette with a ribbon. What do you think is the importance of these pieces of art in war-torn towns? Discuss.
  • Do you think artists’ lives can be at risk for putting up political art? Why or why not? Discuss.

Discussion B

  • In your opinion, is art a good means to challenge systems or the current state of things? Why or why not? Discuss.
  • If you could create a mural, what would you like to feature? Why? Discuss.