A Metro Vancouver mural showing support for Ukraine, which was recently destroyed, was repainted by the artist this week.
Jordan Malcolm visited the mural again Tuesday night to give it a fresh coat of paint after someone spray-painted “down with Ukraine’s Nazis” on it late Friday night or early Saturday morning. A symbol used by Nazis in World War II was also painted on the mural.
“It’s extremely hurtful to the people in the neighborhood who are Ukrainian and who are of Jewish descent, and therefore I will continue to create art in support of Ukraine,” Malcolm told CTV News Vancouver.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has justified Russia’s invasion of Ukraine as a “special military operation” aimed at demilitarizing and “de-Nazifying” the country.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is a Jew, and the country’s government does not support neo – Nazi ideology. Putin’s claims may be a reference to the far-right Azov battalion, a National Guard deformation in line with Ukraine, which has neo-Nazi views.
Malcolm said his work was so badly ruined that he decided to create something completely new.
When finished, the mural will have the words “stop war” over the Ukrainian flag. Malcolm said the town of Burnaby donated supplies and asked other local artists to help fill the walkway on Wilson Avenue near Kingsway with art to support Ukraine.
“I think more art like this is needed,” he said.
With files from CTV News Vancouver’s Ian Holliday