Banksy, identity revealed: he is street artist Robin Gunningham

the mystery that has fuelled the myth of contemporary urban art for decades seems to have come to a definitive conclusion. A massive investigation by the international news agency Reuters has uncovered that behind the pseudonym Banksy lies Robin Gunningham, a graffiti artist born in Bristol in 1973 and who later took the name David Jones. The discovery was the result of meticulous investigative journalism that cross-referenced field testimonies, video analysis and a careful examination of the elusive British street artist's movements.

The focus of the investigation was on the works appeared in Ukraine at the end of 2022, whose authorship had been confirmed by Banksy himself via his Instagram profile, as an act of solidarity with the victims of the Russian military intervention. Reuters reporters visited the places where the graffiti had appeared, in particular the town of Horenka, and gathered information among the inhabitants, showing them photographs of several street artists, including Frenchman Thierry Guetta, in order to identify the real Banksy.

All evidence pointed towards Gunningham, who was identified by the tabloid Daily Mail back in 2008. The newspaper stated at the time that its year-long investigation had "come as close as possible to revealing" Banksy's identity, while maintaining a degree of caution. Photos of Gunningham had also emerged but the artist's manager was quick to deny the scoop, fuelling the halo of secrecy around the star. Banksy subsequently assumed the name David Jones but it is unclear whether he still uses it, even more so in the light of the discovery made by Reuters which was picked up by the media worldwide.

It has also been revealed that Robert Del Naja, frontman of the trip-hop band Massive Attack and a long-time on the shortlist of possible Banksy, was a close collaborator of the street artist. The two have therefore realised some four-handed works. Other media had previously come close to identifying them. Last year, the BBC published photos of the young Banksy portrayed at work teaching graffiti and stencils to young boys in his Bristol during the 1990s. Giving the shots to the British public broadcaster was Peter de Boer, one of the managers of the youth centre where Banksy, not yet famous at the time, had been called to run workshops with teenagers, for a fee of £50 per 'lesson', and then one day create works valued at millions of pounds.