Who were the Bog People? How was Stonehenge formed? Where did the Mayans go? And who the fuck is Banksy?
These are some of life’s great mysteries and we may have just uncovered one of them.
If you’re familiar with Banksy’s art, you’d well aware that part of the allure of his street artwork is the fact that he remains anonymous. For decades much speculation has been made about who the artist is behind the art – there have been plenty of stabs in the dark but nothing concrete. Until now.
A curious new lawsuit is unfolding in the UK between an event planner named Andrew Gallagher and Banksy’s company Pest Control Limited. Gallagher is suing Banksy’s company for defamation and amongst the legal documents we have uncovered a co-defendant named Robin Gunningham. People online are speculating that 53-year-old Gunningham is indeed the infamous Banksy.
I don’t know about you but I always imagined Banksy to be a perennial 29-year-old guy who vapes, wears oversized cargo jeans and uses a velcro wallet.
The theory that Banksy is Gunningham plays into former reports from ‘Mail on Sunday’ which ran an investigation back in 2008 which pinpointed a local Bristol man as the artist behind the famous artwork. At the time they printed Robin Gunningham as Banksy although it was refuted by his team and everyone just carried on with their lives.
Other theories on Banksy’s true identity have ranged from Jamie Hewlett of Gorillaz fame to artist Thierry Guetta (aka Mr Brainwash) and even musician Robert Del Naja from Massive Attack. For the most part it has been one big fun secret that the public have enjoyed buying into. However, now that Banksy’s real identity may have been uncovered plenty of people are kinda pissed off.
Media please stop ‘revealing’ Banksy’s identity NO ONE NEEDS TO KNOW. In a world jam packed with revelations, let some things remain a secret please and thank you.
— Joanna Cannon (@JoannaCannon) October 4, 2023
I don’t think I like knowing who #banksy really is. Why couldn’t we keep his identity a secret and simply love his work, the joy it brings and the messages it gives us? pic.twitter.com/TVq4KOjQMI
— Darren Danks | Mindset Coach (@thedazdanks) October 4, 2023
Perhaps the unknown is what makes his artwork so intriguing.
After all, owning a ‘Banksy’ sounds much cooler than owning a ‘Gunningham’, don’t ya think?
