Sasha Korban
Born12 March 1987 Edit this on Wikidata
OccupationGraffiti artist Edit this on Wikidata
WorksMilana (mural) Edit this on Wikidata

Sasha Korban is a Ukrainian graffiti artist.[1] His 2018 Mariupol mural of Milana Abdurashytova, a 3-year-old girl who survived a missile attack by pro-Russian forces,[2][3][4] was destroyed in 2022 during the Russian occupation of Mariupol.[5]

Childhood and youth

Korban was born 12 March 1987 in Kirovske in Donetsk Oblast in Ukraine.[6]

Mining

Korban worked in the Komsomolets Donbasu coal mine from 2006 to 2011.[6]

Graffiti artist

Sky Art Foundation describes Korban's interest in street art as mainly starting in 2009.[6]

Milana mural

In September 2018, Korban painted a mural of Milana Abdurashytova on a 15-floor building in Mariupol. Abdurashytova and her mother had been hit by a missile strike launched by pro-Russian forces in 2015. Abdurashytova's mother shielded her, dying as a result but saving Abdurashytova's life. One of Abdurashytova's legs was amputated. Abdurashytova received rehabilitation support from the Rinat Akhmetov Foundation. Korban's mural, known as Milana, became a symbol for Mariupol residents.[2][3]

Korban described Abdurashytova as "stronger than any war", having a "little and yet brave heart [that] conquered everything", and as "a real symbol of true hope".[7] Street Art United States described Abdurashytova's face in the mural as "exemplif[ying] Korban's signature style of expressive faces, almost narrative in their realism". It described Milana as "embod[ying] a proud stoicism standing against disaster ... [Abdurashytova] does not exhibit fear, but serenity."[7]

After the 24 February 2022 full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Milana mural was painted over during the Russian occupation of Mariupol.[5] During the occupation, a mural of an Australian girl was also painted in Mariupol by Italian artist Jorit. Il Giornale and the Italian investigative journalism site Valigia Blu criticised Jorit's mural, on the grounds that the artist described it as relating to "NATO missiles", while the bombs that killed children in Mariupol were Russian, and in relation to Korban's destroyed mural.[8][3][4]

Other works

In April 2021, Korban created a mural, A little magic, under a bridge in Kyiv.[1]

In late 2022, on a building opposite the Russian embassy in Tbilisi, Korban painted a mural of a woman wearing traditional clothing. The mural was part of the 2022 Tbilisi Mural Fest and seen as a symbol of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.[9]

References

  1. 1 2 "Sasha Korban Creates a 'Little Magic' Under a Bridge in Ukraine". Brooklyn Street Art. 14 April 2021. Wikidata Q120793956. Archived from the original on 21 July 2023.
  2. 1 2 Mural project, Rinat Akhmetov Foundation, c. 2018, Wikidata Q120793915, archived from the original on 21 July 2023
  3. 1 2 3 Lorenzo Tondo (19 July 2023). "Photographer says street artist used daughter's picture in pro-Russia mural". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Wikidata Q120786372. Archived from the original on 20 July 2023.
  4. 1 2 Angelo Allegri (14 July 2023). "Jorit, il graffitaro finanziato dalla Campania che dipinge murales per gli occupanti russi" [Jorit, the graffiti artist funded by Campania who paints murals for Russian occupants]. Il Giornale (in Italian). ISSN 1124-8831. Wikidata Q120791946. Archived from the original on 21 July 2023.
  5. 1 2 Russian invaders destroyed a mural with a girl who lost her mother during the shelling of Mariupol in 2015, We are Ukraine, 2022, Wikidata Q120794455, archived from the original on 22 July 2023
  6. 1 2 3 Sasha Korban, Sky Art Foundation, c. 2014, Wikidata Q120794039, archived from the original on 21 July 2023
  7. 1 2 Vittoria Benzine (24 October 2018), A beautiful mural by Sasha Korban on resilience of kids in conflict areas, Street Art United States, Wikidata Q120793872, archived from the original on 21 July 2023
  8. ↑ Leonardo Bianchi (15 July 2023), Il vergognoso murale di Jorit a Mariupol [Jorit's disgraceful mural in Mariupol] (in Italian), Valigia Blu, Wikidata Q120788862, archived from the original on 21 July 2023
  9. ↑ Grace Ebert (6 December 2022). "Georgian culture and Ukrainian pride highlight the 2022 Tbilisi Mural Fest". Colossal. Wikidata Q120795723. Archived from the original on 22 July 2023.
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