Banksy Unmasked?

Banksy is a bit of enigma. His art has been gracing the walls of buildings, roads, bus shelters and art galleries for many years but his identity is a closely guarded secret. He has rarely been interviewed by the media even when he has been he has never been filmed or photographed. To start with this secrecy was a necessity as Banksy is somewhat of a guerrilla artist. His pieces tend to 'appear' over night and are often highly satirical in nature. They are large graffiti style paintings and are quite brilliant. One of my favourites is a painting of The Mona Lisa wearing headphones and carrying a rocket launcher.

His pictures are now highly sought after and have fetched very good prices at auction (not the ones on the side of buildings obviously). Ten of his works recently sold for half a million quid and his fans include Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie.

Recently however a picture has appeared that could well be Banksy at work. It was taken in Bethnal Green in London and shows a man, pot of yellow paint in hand, drawing yellow lines on a wall. Later the picture at the top of this post was completed. Has Banksy finally been spotted? Maybe but I doubt he'll be inviting the worlds media for a press conference. Part of his appeal is his invisibility. The fact that he can suddenly produce fantastic pieces of art and nobody sees him do it is what makes him so exciting as an artist. He is much more legit now (he usually gets commissioned to paint rather than just producing graffiti) but he is still the man when it comes to street art in this country.

See more of Banksy here:

Banksy Online

Ally's Flickr Page