Portrait of Karatkevich disappears from Kastrychnitskaya in Minsk. The author explained why he replaced it
Instead of a smiling Uladzimir Karatkevich with a dog, there is now a mosaic-style artwork on the wall of a building in Minsk. The change upset some passersby. The artist himself joined the comments.
The disappearance of the portrait at 23 Kastrychnitskaya was noticed on Threads. User kapystka_ posted photos asking: “I don't quite understand, when did this happen?”
“A place where I always used to stop,” wrote one commenter.
“The mosaic is wonderful, but another place could have been found for it. Why remove Karatkevich?” asked another.
The author of the portrait—an artist from Lida, Yauhen Matsyuta, who works under the pseudonym Cowek—joined the discussion.
“11 years ago I painted this Karatkevich, and there were other drawings before it. The time came to create something new, so that's what I did—a new mosaic-style artwork,” he explained.
The artist suggested looking at the other windows of this building as well: the images in them also change and are updated.
The portrait of Karatkevich in this spot had already been replaced before. Originally, the writer was depicted holding two small kittens in his arms. That image adorned the wall for about five years.
In 2020, a new portrait appeared in its place—a smiling Karatkevich with a dog.
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