Who Is Banksy?
Banksy is a graffiti artist who came to notice in Britain during the 1990s. He is especially known for his acerbic and antiauthoritarian art, often created with stencils in public places. For decades the artist’s identity has been well guarded, but that hasn’t stopped people from speculating. Here are a few theories on who Banksy might be:
Robert “3D” Del Naja, the front person for the band Massive Attack
In addition to being a musician, Del Naja is an artist who hails from Bristol, where Banksy’s art first appeared in the 1990s. One journalist alleged that he had found a correlation between the cities where Massive Attack performed and where work by Banksy appeared. Other sources point out that the musician’s designs for the band’s album sleeves (for example, Heligoland [2010]) resemble Banksy’s signature stencil art. Del Naja has denied the suggestions.
Bristol artist Robin Gunningham
Using geographic profiling, a form of statistical analysis used to locate repeat offenders, criminologists at Queen Mary University in London found a correlation between the locations of Banksy’s art and addresses associated with Gunningham.
Some guy named Robin Banks
A British teenager contended that in 2015 he helped a man pick up paints that had fallen out of his bag. The man introduced himself as Robin Banks, the teen said, and gave him a print signed by Banksy as a thank-you.
Neil Buchanan, host of Art Attack
In 2020 rumors spread on the Internet that Buchanan, the former host of Britain’s educational program Art Attack (1990–2007), was actually Banksy. The rumors suggested that Banksy’s art often appeared in locations where Buchanan’s former band, Marseille, had shows, much like the journalist’s theory about Del Naja. Buchanan denied the claims.
French graffiti artist Thierry Guetta, a.k.a. Mr. Brainwash
Some speculate that Guetta, the bungling subject of the 2010 documentary Exit Through the Gift Shop, purportedly directed by Banksy, is really Banksy.
A team of artists
Numerous commentators have posited that Banksy is an art collective. In the HBO documentary Banksy Does New York (2014), the Canadian artist Chris Healey asserted that the team is led by a blond woman who appears in Banksy’s alleged studio in Exit Through the Gift Shop.
Someone who goes by Rob or Robbie
In 2017 the Internet was sure that British DJ Goldie had let Banksy’s identity slip while a guest on the podcast Distraction Pieces. He referred to someone named Rob as he and host Scroobius Pip discussed Banksy. Then in 2023 the BBC released a radio interview between reporter Nigel Wrench and Banksy from 20 years earlier. Wrench asks the artist whether his name is Robert Banks, and Banksy replies: “It’s Robbie.”