C215 paints portrait of Lesya Ukrainka, plans to presents new work in Kyiv

Ukraine’s Minister of Culture, Oleksandr Tkachenko, reported the information.

Minister Tkachenko wrote that the work of Parisian street artist Christian Guemy, known as C215, was called "the French answer to Banksy."

On Monday, a portrait of poet, translator and cultural activist Lesya Ukrainka appeared on the ruins of a house in the village of Borodyanka, Bucha district, Kyiv region.

At the same time, the artist created a new mural in the center of Kyiv, which will be presented soon.  

On April 25, the Minister of Culture met with Guemy. The artist said that he wanted to go to Bakhmut and paint portraits of fallen Ukrainian soldiers there.

"He first came to us in March 2022. Since then, he has created so many street works that he has stopped counting them. Of course, all of them are about the war in Ukraine and the symbols of our resistance. I am sure you have seen many of his works in Kyiv, the region, Lviv and other cities," the Minister of Culture emphasized.

During the meeting, it was agreed to organize a photo exhibition of Guemy's works at the Museum of War, including those already exhibited at the Council of Europe and newly created works.

Earlier, the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine shared that C215 created a mural in Lviv dedicated to a border guard saying goodbye to his beloved.

The inspiration for the mural was a photograph by Associated Press photographer Andriy Andriyenko, which captured the moment when border guard Vitaliy said goodbye to his partner Albina at the Kramatorsk railway station.

"The nice photo was shared in the media and on social networks, and later its plot was used as the basis for a mural that appeared on the wall of the Lithuanian Military Academy in Vilnius. It was painted by local artist Linas Kaziulionis. And with the assistance of the Minister of Defense of the Republic of Lithuania Arvydas Anušauskas, who posted the image of the mural on his Twitter page, this image in support of Ukraine has again become widespread," Ukraine’s State Border Guard Service said.

According to the border guards, Vitaliy, the hero of the mural, is currently serving in the Kramatorsk detachment, and Albina managed to evacuate to Poland and return to Ukraine. In April, the couple got married via the Internet. Their marriage was certified online by the head of the Kramatorsk border guard detachment, who had been granted this right for the duration of the war. Now Albina has settled in the Dnipro region, where the couple was finally able to exchange rings.

Photo: State Border Guard Service Of Ukraine