When people talk about street art, Banksy is usually the first name that comes up — yet the question remains: who is Banksy?
The artist has stayed anonymous for years by working under a pseudonym, something which lawyer Mark Stephens says ‘protects freedom of expression by allowing creators to speak truth to power without fear of retaliation, censorship or persecution’.
Much of Banksy’s output is rooted in political commentary. One of the most recognisable examples is Flower Thrower, a 2003 stencil showing a masked figure posed like they’re about to hurl a weapon.
Instead of something like a molotov cocktail, the person in the image is gripping a bouquet of flowers — a visual twist that’s become synonymous with Banksy’s style.
Over the years, Banksy’s work has appeared across the globe, and in 2022 the artist left pieces in Ukraine.
Following the Ukraine appearance, Reuters began digging into the artist’s identity. After an investigation spanning years, the news organisation published a report on Friday (March 13) that it ‘revealed’ as an answer to the mystery of who Banksy is.
So how did Reuters arrive at its conclusion?
The 2022 murals in Ukraine effectively became the starting point, prompting Reuters to track movement and connections linked to people long associated with Banksy.
For years, there has been speculation that Banksy could be Massive Attack’s Robert Del Naja, who is also known for his own graffiti work — and Del Naja was in Ukraine around the same period the artworks appeared.
Del Naja was travelling with photographer Giles Duley. Reuters also focused on a third individual seen with them when they were spotted leaving an ambulance in Ukraine, reportedly carrying stencils and spray paint. That third person is believed to have been Banksy.
According to sources cited by Reuters, records show Del Naja and Duley entered Ukraine close to the time the murals were created. Their names have repeatedly been tied to Banksy speculation, along with another widely discussed candidate: Robin Gunningham.
Reuters reported it did not find evidence that Gunningham crossed into Ukraine with them. However, a person named David Jones did.
On October 28, 2022 — the same day Del Naja and Duley entered — a ‘David Jones’ was logged crossing the border at the same location. Reuters reported this David Jones shared the same birthday as Gunningham. The investigation suggests Gunningham may have legally changed his name to David Jones back in 2008 — a notably common UK name — around the time The Mail on Sunday claimed it had identified Banksy as Robin Gunningham.
In comments to Reuters that appeared to support the idea of a name change, Banksy’s former manager Stephen Lazarides said: “There is no Robin Gunningham. The name you’ve got I killed years ago.”
The Reuters report also revisited earlier records. In September 2000, a man called Robin Gunnigham was arrested over alleged billboard vandalism. Police paperwork stated that Gunningham wrote and signed a confession.
Those same records listed an address: 160 E. 25th Street in New York — the location of the Carlton Arms Hotel.
Reuters reported that the artist had stayed at the Carlton Arms Hotel for several months before the arrest. The hotel was said to offer free rooms to artists in exchange for them painting and decorating the spaces.
Archived images from the hotel’s website show a room decorated in 1997 and attributed to Banksy, crediting the work to ‘Robin Banks’ — a pun on bank robbery that also borrows the artist’s first name.
Later, the name was shortened to Banksy — and the alias became world-famous.