Ukrainian security company Ajax Systems has installed US$13,000 worth of security equipment to protect several Banksy artworks in Kyiv created by the artist during the Russian invasion
A Ukrainian security company has taken steps to protect several Banksy murals in Kyiv following an attempted theft of one of the artworks last December.
Ajax Systems has installed US$13,000 (€12,250, £10,790) worth of state-of-the-art security systems on four of seven artworks created by the artist in 2022 during the ongoing Russian invasion.
Designed to protect the artworks from acts of vandalism and adverse weather conditions, the systems include shockproof glass, motion sensors, alarms and transparent polycarbonate walls. One of the murals has also been equipped with a smart air quality monitor, which measures CO2, temperature and humidity levels, and climate controls.
The works are also receiving round-the-clock surveillance and rapid response from Ukrainian security firm Sheriff.
An Ajax Systems’ spokesperson revealed that the cost of the project was covered by the company and that the artist had not been contacted about the project before the installation.
“The murals are a major symbol of resistance, important for the whole world, and we want to protect them,” Valentine Hrytsenko, chief marketing officer at Ajax Systems, told The Art Newspaper.
“For Ukrainians, Banksy’s murals are a symbol of invincibility with an essential message that we want to capture for our future generation.”
Heorhii Yerko, acting head of the village council of Borodyanka, a suburb of Kyiv that is home of the Banksy murals, added that the works are “war artefacts that must be preserved for Ukrainians.”
Oleh Torkunov, deputy head of the Kyiv Regional Military Administration, said: “Banksy’s works have cultural and historical value for the country as a reminder that light will win over darkness.”
