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Reuters Investigation Identifies Banksy as Robin Gunningham, Renewing Debate Over the Artist’s Anonymity

The investigation’s evidence-based naming faces a firm denial of key details from the artist’s lawyer citing privacy and safety risks.

Overview

  • Reporters traced the figure to Bristol-born Robin Gunningham, who reportedly later used the name David Jones, drawing on travel records, eyewitness accounts and archival documents.
  • Witnesses and border data tied a masked team creating 2022 murals in Ukraine to a traveler using the name David Jones with Gunningham’s birth date, alongside Massive Attack’s Robert Del Naja.
  • Court and police files from a 2000 New York graffiti arrest repeatedly name Robin Gunningham and include an apparent signed, handwritten confession examined by reporters.
  • Banksy’s lawyer Mark Stephens disputes many details, urged against publication on privacy and safety grounds, and Pest Control’s spokesperson said the artist has decided to say nothing.
  • The findings align with a 2008 Mail on Sunday report naming Gunningham, while the investigation concludes Del Naja is not Banksy though he may have accompanied or collaborated with him.