Horenka, Sadova 21 2022

Banksy made this painting in Horenka, Sadova 21, Ukraine. It's so stark, isn't it? Black paint against the rubble of a bombed-out building. You can almost see Banksy out there with his stencils and spray paint. Imagine the act of painting itself. A quick, furtive act in a landscape of devastation. I wonder what he was thinking when he made it. The texture of the wall, the rough, broken surface, it contrasts so strongly with the smooth, flat black paint of the image. That stark black silhouette of a woman bathing juxtaposed against the destruction all around, that is heartbreaking. It's a message, right? Something about resilience, about humanity persisting even in the face of unimaginable loss. Banksy’s work reminds us that artists are always responding to the world around them, and to each other, in an ongoing conversation. It's a conversation that embraces uncertainty, allowing for multiple interpretations, not a fixed idea.