Reuters: Banksy Real Identity Is…
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After a year of investigating using a “reverse forensic” approach, Reuters believes it has solved one of the biggest mysteries in the art world: the true identity of muralist (or graffiti artist) Banksy. But spoiler, while they present a very compelling case, the individual they say is “Banksy” has not confirmed their reporting to be correct.
There will be no name spoilers in this article. I urge you to visit Reuter’s report and read it directly as it’s good gumshoe investigating. Their approach started by locating a mural in Horenka, Ukraine (image above) via his social media posts then interviewing individuals near that location for recollections of strangers or foreigners. Another clue came from tracking down a defaced billboard in New York City in 2000 that appears in a book by former Banksy manager Steve Lazarides called Banksy Captured. Lazarides also mentions an arrest for defacing the billboard. Looking into police and court records, they unearthed a name, but it was not the smoking gun. The pieces came together when they learned this individual had changed their name in 2008 and the new identity matched a name known to have crossed into Ukraine in 2022 just days before new Banksy murals appeared in Horenka.
The Reuter’s article also looks into his artistic past and finds he did a comic in his school paper when he was 11.
Again, from Reuters (name redacted to avoid spoil anything):
Archived copies of the student magazine, The Cathedralian, contain numerous mentions of ██████████. These include a comic strip he created around age 11.
Later, ██████████ earned school awards for his artwork and was lauded in the Cathedralian for his acting and athleticism. He “showed stage presence” in a school play and was commended for “spectacular saves” as a goalkeeper on the field hockey team.
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