Pasha P183 Dies, ‘Russian Banksy’ Was 29

Street artist Pasha P183 has died at the age of 29, it has been reported, but like much of the public knowledge of him, details are vague and not readily confirmed.

Pasha P183 was called the “Russian Banksy” due to several similarities between his work and that of the infamous British graffiti legend about whom the film Exit Through The Gift Shop was made.

In Moscow, Pasha P183 had been detained numerous times for his well-known middle of the night street art installations, and spoke of one of the notable works he did during an interview last year with a Russian website. He said:

“I wanted that work to carry the most important message … that a person mustn’t sell himself. I made a chocolate bar that can’t be bought, using a giant panel of concrete.”

In a TV interview, Pasha P183 said last year:

“Put simply, I want to teach people in this country to tell lies from the truth and to tell bad from good … This is what our people still cannot do.”

Pasha P183 worked on some of the sets for the musical Todd before his death, and the group producing the show, Teatralnoye Delo theatrical production company, confirmed the artist’s death Monday. Spokeswoman Regina Vartsan called Pasha P183 a “sincere and open person of remarkable talent and unique vision.”

One of the last things Pasha P183 said on Facebook before his death concerned his work on Todd, where he reportedly remarked:

“If I die tomorrow, I can at least feel that I have left something real behind.”

Pasha P183 died of unknown or undisclosed causes.