Codename Bankski:

Codename Bankski: The 'Russian Banksy' brings guerilla art to Moscow

By Graham Smith


A Russian street artist who has left a growing collection of flamboyant guerilla art around Moscow has been dubbed the new Banksy.

Known only as P183 - or Bankski, due to the similarity of his work to the British artist - the mysterious figure has attracted considerable interest from the art world.
One project inventively uses a lamp-post to double as the arm of a giant pair of eyeglasses, with the rest of the 'frames' drawn in the snow.

Seeing is believing: Russian guerilla artist P183's eyeglasses project in Moscow inventively uses a lamp-post to double as the arm of a giant pair of glasses, with the rest of the 'frames' drawn in the snow

Inventive: P183's Instigators Of Bridges work depicts a rioter with a flare painted on a flyover. At night, real flames are lit to add realism to the piece

Known only as P183 - or Bankski, due to the similarity of his work to the British guerilla artist - the mysterious figure has left a growing collection of flamboyant creations around Moscow

P183 came up with the idea while staring out of the window of a high-rise building.
He said: 'The snow fell, covering the square in a huge white sheet.
'Looking from the window of the upper floor I could not help looking for items to put fantasies into reality.

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'In the middle of the courtyard stands a lamp-post, which very much resembles the shackle of glasses. The decision came immediately to make it a reality.'
Elsewhere, his Instigators Of Bridges piece depicts a rioter with a flare painted on a flyover.
At night, real flames are lit to add realism to the art.

Like Banksy, little about the identity of P183 is known.
What is thought to be true is that his first name is Pavel, he is 28 years old and he studied 'communicative design' at college.

Anonymous: Like Banksy, little is known about the identity of P183 except that his name is thought to be Pavel, he is 28 years old and he studied 'communicative design' at college

P183's True To The Truth celebrates the attempt by a group of members of the Soviet Union's government to take control of the country from Soviet president Mikhail Gorbachev in 1991. It ingeniously depicts two rioters kicking a line of riot police

Self-portrait? An artist covering his identity and wielding a can of spray paint peers out from 'under' a wall

Banksy's own profile has in recent years gone from outlaw graffiti beatnik to respected fine artist with numerous gallery exhibitions.
The British artist first began his guerilla artwork campaign in Bristol in the early 1990s, and since then it has taken him around the world and earned him mainstream acceptance.
Banksy's identity is still not widely known, although it has been reported that he could be 38-year-old former public schoolboy Robin Gunningham.

Seasonal: A cut-out of a ghostly girl hanging baubles on barbed wire popped up in central Moscow last month

Urban hazard: A giant rat appears to be peering out from a hellish underworld in this piece

via dailymail.co.uk