Is The Infamous Street Artist Banksy’s Identity Finally Unmasked?

The Reuters investigation reveals an evidence based conclusion they have come to, driven by a question everyone has had, his fans and critics alike: Who is Banksy?

Reuters report draws a picture: In 2022, three men had mysteriously popped out in Horenka, Ukraine. Among them, one person had worn a gray hoodie while another wore a baseball cap on his head, both masked. The third was more easily identifiable: He was unmasked, and had one arm and two prosthetic legs, witnesses told Reuters.

The masked men carried cardboard stencils and taped them to the wall before pulling out cans and started to create their art - the image of a bearded man in a bathtub, scrubbing his back amid the wreckage.

Reuters sent a reporter to visit Horenka, who showed pictures of persons they suspected could be Banksy. The prime list of suspects included three people: Thierry Gueretta also known as Mr.Brainwash, Singer Robert Del Naja and Robert Gunningham. A local woman who has stated that she served coffee for the masked men, whom she claims that she’s seen without their masks, has identified one with Del Naja. Reuters stated that the reaction proved nothing. But it made sense given some other information they later discovered.

Reuters have analyzed the behind the scenes photos published of Banksy's former manager Steve Lazarides. Among them one image pointed to an arrest linking to defacing a fashion billboard in the meatpacking district of Manhattan. By using this image as a reference, the team found out the building’s address leading them to 675 Hudson Street. From there they directed their investigation towards digging the undisclosed U.S. court records and police reports. And when the documents were finally seen, they found a handwritten confession note by an artist to a long ago misdemeanor charge of disorderly conduct. The name Robin Gunningham was marked across all the documents.

This isn't the first time Gunningham’s name has come up while trying to unmask Banksy. In 2008, The Mail had explicitly stated that Robin was the face behind Banksy, which Reuters assume is what prompted him to legally change his name to David Jones.

David Jones is also one of the most common names in the UK. According to a report by the data analysis firm GBG in 2017, over 6000 males in England were present with the same name. By tracing Banksy's work over time, Reuters had arrived at the conclusion that David Jones had crossed the border into Ukraine along with his accomplices Robert Del Naja and Giles Duley. They’ve also noted that a source has identified the birthday on Jones’s passport matching exactly to that of Gunningham’s.

Charles Baudelaire has famously stated that, “The greatest trick the Devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn’t exist”. And the greatest trick that Banksy ever pulled was convincing the world by hiding behind a very popular name.

This Article is Written By Yoga Adithya, an Intern from Deccan Chronicle.