A new report has claimed to finally reveal the real-life identity of the street artist Banksy.
The highly influential Bristol-based artist and activist has never publicly confirmed his real name or his true identity, leading to decades of widespread speculation and intrigue.
Now, an in-depth investigation by journalists at Reuters claims to have established “beyond dispute” the man behind the anonymity. They tracked down a trip the artist made to Ukraine, as well as photographs posted by former associates and a handwritten confession note from an arrest in New York in 2000.
The report claims that Banksy is in fact Robin Gunningham, although it says he changed his name to David Jones some years ago.
They point to a 2022 Ukraine trip that Gunningham made with Massive Attack’s Robert Del Naja – who himself has long been rumoured to be the real Banksy. The two have long been thought to be close friends.
