Banksy is one of the most famous artists in the art world, but no one in the world knows exactly who he is.
Except for Banksy himself and his assistants.
In this article, we will explain the mystery of the street art master Banksy and his famous works.
First, let's review what we know about this godforsaken artist.
What kind of artist is Banksy?
Banksy is a street artist. His paintings on city walls have been reproduced and sold at various auctions for as much as several million dollars.
When Banksy leaves his work on the streets, he announces it through his official Instagram page.
He is an artist who creates graffiti that focuses on social issues and includes strong political statements.
AFP/Getty Images
A few facts we know about Banksy
We know that Banksy is from Bristol, England, and that he has been scribbling tags (like street artists', logos, and signs) all over the city since the 1990s. Later, his work morphed into more sophisticated and politically critical stencil work, resulting in the well-known "Banksy" image.
His earliest large-scale street art was The Mild Mild West, painted in 1999 on Stokes Croft in his hometown of Bristol.
The work, which depicts a teddy bear throwing Molotov cocktails at three riot police officers, was reportedly painted by the artist over the course of three days in broad daylight.
This work, along with others, can still be seen in the city today.
In an anonymous interview with Swindle magazine in 2006, Banksy said, "I'm from a small town in the south of England.
I come from a small town in the south of England. When I was about 10 years old, there was a kid called 3D who was painting the streets as hard as he could. He had been to New York and I think he was the first to bring spray painting back to Bristol. I grew up seeing spray paint on the streets long before I saw it in magazines or on the computer.
3D quit painting and formed a band called Massive Attack. Graffiti was our favorite thing in school. We did it on the bus going home from school. Everybody was doing it."
Banksy has exhibited his work in Paris, New York, Bethlehem, and elsewhere, and in 2017 opened the Walled Off Hotel, directly facing an 8-meter-high concrete wall built by Israel to separate the Palestinian territories.
Ammar Awad/Reuters
This is not the first time Banksy has taken his work off the wall.
In 2017, he opened " Dismaland Bemusement Park" in the seaside town of Weston-super-Mare, near his hometown, which seems to be a cross between his artwork and a famous theme park.
Dismaland" exhibition / Reuters Photos
Theories surrounding Banksy's true identity
Robin Gunningham
There are many theories as to the true identity of Banksy, but the most popular theory is that the artist is a man named Robin G aningham.
Ganningham was born in 1973 in Yate, a suburb of Bristol, and many of his former schoolmates believe him to be Banksy.
Ganningham was a talented illustrator at school and is said to have often drawn cartoons, and in fact, Banksy admits in an interview that his love of drawing first emerged during his school years.
An image of Ganingham with a spray can and stencil, taken in Jamaica, circulated widely and was widely attributed to Banksy.
The rumor was so strong that in 2018, the only original artwork that Robin Gunningham believed to bear his name sold at auction for £4,000 (about $18,500).
The piece in question is an illustrated album sleeve for "Oh My God It's Cheeky Clown" by Bristol-based band Mother Samosa, which bears similarities to Banksy's early graffiti style.
In 2016, criminologists at Queen Mary University attempted to verify the link between Gunningham and Banksy's work in London and Bristol, using geographical profiling, which is usually used to link criminals to crimes.
However, the study was postponed after Banksy's lawyer contacted the university with concerns about how the study, called "Tagging Banksy," might be used and promoted in the press.
It is not clear whether Ganningham is Banksy or not, as neither Ganningham, Banksy, nor Banksy's agent have officially commented (either confirming or denying) on this theory.
(2) Robert Del Naja.
Another popular theory names Robert Del Naja of Massive Attack as Banksy.
As noted above, Del Naja is also a well-known graffiti artist, having worked for years in Bristol under the name 3D, whom Banksy cites as one of his earliest influences.
This theory is said to have come about after DJ Goldie allegedly leaked Banksy's name while discussing the street artist on a podcast.
He stated.
'No disrespect to Rob, but I think he's a great artist. I think he turned the art world upside down."
But that "Rob" could easily be Robin, too.
The Del Naja theory was strengthened when fans linked two new Banksy appearances in the same city where Massive Attack was playing to two new Banksy albums.
Unlike Gunningham, however, Del Naja has publicly denied the claims.
(iii) Jamie Hewlett.
Rumors that Jamie Hewlett, founder of Gorillaz, was behind the work have been around for several years.
This is because an anonymous forensic expert has reportedly filed documents showing his connection to any company Banksy is associated with. The artist has also produced work that has been used in the band's music videos in the past, adding more fuel to the fire.
However, Banksy's representatives deny these claims.
There have been numerous "sightings" of Banksy over the years, most recently when he was seen wearing PPE as he installed his latest work on the London Underground.
Also in 2018, a passerby claimed to have seen him near his recently installed work in Hull.
However, these sightings are not enough to clearly identify his face. It is also unclear whether Banksy installs all of his works himself or whether he executes them with a team.
Why is Banksy hiding his identity?
While it is true that Banksy is well known and that people pay hundreds of thousands of dollars to obtain his work, the "graffiti" that he is doing is essentially illegal.
Banksy's works are usually created without a permit in the dark of night and presented after dawn.
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