He is the elusive road artist whose mysterious murals appeal to crowds of onlookers and tempt superstar patrons – however Banksy has by no means confirmed his true id.
But locals admiring his newest work in London imagine the prime suspect might need let his masks slip by turning up on the scene and being captured on digicam.
A person stated to bear a hanging resemblance to former public schoolboy Robin Gunningham was noticed beside the recently-revealed tree-themed portray in Finsbury Park, north London, on Saturday morning.Â
Reviews have lengthy prompt he’s liable for Banksy road murals with names similar to Balloon Lady, Love Is In The Bin, Slave Labour and Kissing Coppers.
The photographs had been taken beside the most recent mural, which appeared on a wall in Hornsey Highway on March 17 earlier than being vandalised with streaks of white paint shortly afterwards.
A person stated to resemble ex-public schoolboy Robin Gunningham was photographed on the scene of the most recent Banksy mural in Finsbury Park, north London, on Saturday morning
A Mail On Sunday investigation beforehand recognized the person behind Banksy as being ex-public schoolboy Robin Gunningham, from Bristol – pictured right here in Jamaica in 2004
The most recent Banksy mural appeared on a wall in Hornsey Highway on March 17
An area Banksy fan who took the photographs stated: ‘I’ve been going to the mural for a complete week.
‘On Saturday there was extra safety fences and CCTV up and some folks placing up Perspex over the paintings.
‘I went again at 10am to go have one other have a look at what they had been doing and noticed this man who seems to be precisely just like the photograph I noticed 20 years in the past of Banksy.
‘I discovered it bizarre he was placing up his personal Perspex.
‘The folks placing it up weren’t carrying council uniforms or something. One was carrying a Nirvana T-shirt – he should have been there for hours.’Â
The brand new mural depicts an summary look of foliage subsequent to a stencil of an individual holding a strain hose.
It was later confirmed by Banksy on his Instagram to be real.
The identify Robin Gunningham was first revealed by a Mail On Sunday investigation in 2008Â which reported that he’s a former public schoolboy from Bristol.
The photographs of the person who could possibly be Banksy had been taken on Saturday morning
One native stated he ‘noticed this man who seems to be precisely just like the photograph I noticed 20 years in the past of Banksy’
The mural exhibits an summary look of foliage subsequent to a stencil of an individual holding a strain hose
The newspaper printed {a photograph} taken in Jamaica in 2004 exhibiting a person with a bag of spray cans by his toes – which was recognized as Mr Gunningham.
Banksy can be believed to have passed by the identify Robin Banks, and in 2017 the DJ Goldie referred to him in an interview on the Distraction Items podcast as ‘Rob’.
Certainly one of Banksy’s most hanging moments was in 2003 when he disguised himself as a pensioner and put in a bit in a vacant spot within the Tate Britain in London.
His paintings Lady With Balloon self-destructed in a Sotheby’s London saleroom when descending right into a shredder in 2018.
That piece was then renamed Love Is In The Bin, which in 2021 bought for £18.6million – an all-time excessive for a Banksy paintings.
It was reported final October that Banksy was named as the primary defendant in a Excessive Courtroom authorized motion accusing him of defamation.
His co-defendant is the corporate Banksy established named Pest Management Ltd, which sells his artwork.
MailOnline additionally revealed how a former Labour Parliamentary lobbyist Pleasure Millward, initially from the West Midlands, is claimed to be married to Banksy. Â
She labored as a researcher for Labour MP Austin Mitchell, who died in 2021, and later arrange Precept Affairs, a foyer group for charities.Â
Footage had been taken of a person some have prompt seems to be like Robin Gunningham
Banksy followers have been taking pictures of his latest paintings
Streaks of white paint defaced the paintings which appeared on March 17
Protecting fences have been put in close to the brand new mural in Finsbury Park, north London
Crowds are persevering with to flock to the scene of Banksy newest’s mural, in Hornsey Highway
Art work in North London, attributed to guerrilla graffiti artist Banksy, is pictured on Essex Highway in Islington on March 4, 2008
Love is within the Air (Flower Thrower) by Banksy
Ms Millward is assumed to have met Mr Gunningham in 2003 earlier than they married in Las Vegas in 2006.
The Mail On Sunday investigation recognized Banksy as Mr Gunningham, Bristol-born son of former contracts supervisor Peter Gunningham and his spouse, firm director’s secretary Pamela.
In the meantime, Banksy’s voice was lately heard for the primary time in 20 years when an audio clip was unearthed of him refusing to apologise for his graffiti.
The recording dates again to 2003 when ex-BBC arts correspondent Nigel Wrench interviewed Banksy to mark the opening of his Turf Struggle exhibition in east London.
Solely among the materials was broadcast that July on the Radio 4’s PM programme, however Mr Wrench was lately listening to The Banksy Story podcast which got here out final July – main him to search out the complete interview on a minidisc at his house.
The BBC launched final November a bonus podcast episode that includes the dialogue.
Within the interview Banksy may be heard defending how he does his work undercover at pace, saying: ‘I am not right here to apologise for it – it is a faster means of constructing your level, proper?’
Based on the podcast, the interview was recorded within the run-up to the artist’s thirtieth birthday, as he was putting in his debut exhibition, Turf Struggle, in a warehouse in Hackney, East London.
The present featured a portrait of Queen Elizabeth II as a chimpanzee, certainly one of Winston Churchill with a grass Mohican and two reside pigs painted within the blue and white test worn by the Metropolitan Police.
A Mail On Sunday investigation in 2008 recognized Mr Gunningham as BanksyÂ
Robin Gunningham and Robert del Naja from Bristol trip-hop band Huge AssaultÂ
Banksy’s work referred to as Love Is In The Bin self-destructed at Sotheby’s, London, in 2018
This paintings featured in an exhibition referred to as The World Of Banksy at Porta Nuova railway station within the Italian metropolis of Turin in 2022Â
An artist believed to be Banksy was seen placing up a creation on the Tate Britain in 2003
Within the interview, Banksy stated his work was a ‘celebration of vandalism’, including: ‘It is about justice.
‘When you’ve ever fallen foul of the justice system, then it turns you very sceptical about every thing, so I suppose I like to show it on its head somewhat bit. I am into understanding who actually are the great guys.’
He has bought works to singer Christina Aguilera, who owns a pornographic image of Queen Victoria with a prostitute.
One other purchaser was actress Angelina Jolie who has a twist on a Manet portray by which a white household lunch below an umbrella watched by 15 ravenous Africans.
He additionally created the paintings for Blur’s 2003 album Assume Tank.
Crowds of individuals have continued to go to the positioning of the brand new mural in Hornsey Highway.Â
Property agent Alex Georgiou, proprietor of the constructing the place it appeared, beforehand seemed to allay neighbours’ fears by claiming he would not be charging extra off the again of the realm’s sudden fame.
Nonetheless, he welcomed curiosity from potential patrons, as he informed MailOnline: ‘You understand what, if anyone supplied me thousands and thousands and so they can have the constructing and take the flats with it. Be at liberty.’
Turf Struggle by Banksy
A piece of a piece Bansky created throughout lockdown in his toilet. The artist captioned the social media publish: ‘My spouse hates it once I make money working from home’
Flying Copper by Banksy, on show at The Artwork of Banksy exhibition on Could 17 final 12 months
The proprietor of 1 constructing in Shoreditch, east London, painted over certainly one of Banksy’s etchings after they turned irritated by a safety gentle always being activated by Banksy followers turning as much as view it.
And householders Garry and Gokean Coutts spent £200,000 eradicating a mural of a seagull from their home in Lowestoft, Suffolk, after they had been pressured to rent safety after it turned a goal for vandals and thieves.
One other Banksy paintings that appeared in Peckham, south London – a site visitors cease signal coated with three army drones – was stolen lower than an hour later final December.
MailOnline has approached Banksy’s representatives Pest Management Workplace for remark.Â
