Art, many a time, is about finding the light in a disorienting fog. In a fast-paced world where no one has time to stop and smell the flowers, there was someone who made many stop and literally look at the writing on the wall. The artist, popularly known as Banksy, uses stencil art, a method that protects the notoriously private artist’s image and identity from being revealed by the very public positioning of his works. This anonymity added another shroud of intrigue to his art. And yet, a recent Reuters report has seemingly uncovered the elusive artist’s identity. They say Banksy is actually... Bristol native Robin Cunningham.
Over the years, many artists have been speculated to be the real Banksy: Massive Attack band frontman Robert Del Naja, the French street artist Thierry Guetta, and even 90s kids’ favourite Art Attack’s Neil Buchanan. But before he was Banksy, the artist used the pseudonym Robin Banks, which lends credence to the latest development.
Nevertheless, Banksy’s messages have been expressed through lampoons, using the environment surrounding his piece. On a Spartan grey wall at London’s Waterloo Bridge, a black mural of a girl with windswept hair emerged, whose red heart-shaped balloon has been swept away by the wind. The ‘Girl with Balloon’ became a mascot of his work and was a representation of hope during conflicts such as the Syrian War. This work, which had numerous versions, was also auctioned at Sotheby’s. Immediately after the sale, the piece was shredded in half, once again highlighting the artist’s anti-establishment stance.
From London and New York to the War Zones of Ukraine, the artist has emerged to provide his commentary on the world. In 2025, he unveiled three works: a lighthouse in Marseille, France, which cast a shadow on a metal post, with a self-reflective message, two children lying down and pointing to the sky, in London, and a judge beating a protestor with a gavel, painted outside the Royal Courts of Justice, London.
While the canvas and messaging sparked some chatter, the subsequent removal of his work, which was always par for the course, flamed wider conversations.
Banksy’s art wasn’t limited to spray cans and paintbrushes. The artist is also an Oscar nominee for his 2011 documentary Exit Through the Gift Shop, which chronicles Guetta’s journey through Los Angeles, covering the work of several street artists. A parody theme park named Dismaland opened in August 2015, in a true Banksy manner, consisting of absurdist pieces that subverted everyday objects. But the biggest surprise is the opening of The Walled Off Hotel in Bethlehem.
A place that is revered by the largest religion in the world, and a place that is currently adjacent to a war zone. Dubbed the hotel with the worst view in the world, it reopened in 2025 after a two-year closure.
Throughout his career, the monetary value of the artist’s works has hinged on his identity. While some argue that the secrecy of his work is what gives it value, the human impulse to peek behind the magician’s curtain has also prevailed, sparking multiple investigations.
One can always speculate on the core objective of his life’s work. However, the fact remains that the man, who once remarked that even after painting hundreds of parliamentarians as chimpanzees, he was called a guerrilla artist, is the artist who tries to express freedom by depicting a silverback gorilla releasing various animals from the London Zoo.
Was Banksy the animal being let out of the cage to discover freedom, or the critically endangered silverback gorilla, who wanted the rest of the Zoo to breathe the same free air it was breathing? Robin Cunningham may know, but do we need to know? Is it still magic if we know how it is done? Basically... Do we really want to believe Banksy has been unmasked, or do we wait for the next mural to appear in a random place, give a slight smile and nod our heads in admiration, and move on?