• For Permissions and Terms on Reproduction of the Banksy Spitalfields photograph, contact
  St.Mark@LondonDada.com

 

Preface / Intro

London Dada’s aim in bringing graffiti artist Banksy’s appearance and identity into public awareness lies in a belief the art world would be a healthier and more just environment for all artists to operate successfully if the honest and plain-speaking force for good that Banksy is, could be persuaded to abandon his now somewhat tedious anonymity, screw-up his courage and step out of the shadows to campaign on vital issues and offer wise commentary on his wall messages.
– Michael St.Mark
London, February 2019

Banksy outed in Spitalfields, August 2014.  Rob Gunningham caught short, photographing what was probably intended to have been another addition to his collection of assorted street graffiti images, ( alongside a bulging scrap book of other artists’ torn cartoon pages, perchance some of which for consideration to tweak and  integrate into future works? ** ).

Having compared Rob’s height in the photo with that of the old trade door and the make of the partly obscured nearby blue getaway car in the image ( Stanmore plate ), we estimate Banksy to come in at around the 6ft mark – maybe 6ft 1″ – 6′ 2″ in New Balance trainers.
He’s certainly a tall guy.

Context
August 3rd 2014, Wilkes Street London E1.  An early Sunday morning chance encounter with two men, both noticeably avoiding attention in this deserted street by turning their backs as they were approached by London Dada’s Art Axis.

The tall “silver-haired” one smartly walked across the street as Art got close and bent over to attend a pro camera setup, apparently procuring photos of Dale Marshall-like graffiti and sundry adulterated posters adorning a dilapidated commercial twin door. 
Just after Art had passed and, at a shout from his lookout/assistant on the opposite side of the street at the sight of AA having stopped and, producing his camera, pointing and pausing to get the autofocus locked; the tall one stood up, turned and stepped quickly out, placing one leg in front of the parked-up Peugeot 206 RC ( the only car in the street that morning ), obscuring the full plate reg number. ( quick thinking – ed )

On viewing the total of 4 images we captured of this guy and his ducking & diving assistant / lookout, it became clear by the identical features and proportions to those of the person in the photo ( reversed *** ) and reliably claimed to be *Robin Gunningham / Banksy by the Daily Mail in 2008 ; that this indeed was Banksy himself.

In addition to the overall features in this picture both proportionally and specifically matching that famous Jamaican image of Gunningham from 2004, featured ( reversed ) in the Daily Mail in 2008; short mustache above a distinctive Punch & Judy chin, aquiline nose, high forehead with hairline interrupted by a widow’s peak, all being pretty unequivocal giveaways.

Analysis

The dyed grey/silver hair & blotchy white stage makeup-powdered stubble smear, an attempt at c. +25 years age disguise. Who else in the UK would make that much faff to mask their appearance – including a latex prosthetic sharp-end nose piece  (see circled below) –  when ” on duty ” in public and working around street graffiti?

* If Robin Gunningham, an ex-public schoolboy from Bristol, for whom there’s indisputable evidence of being a real person, is not Banksy, then why is he not listed on any public records, the Electoral Register, nor come forward after seeing his name plastered all over the ‘net to make clear he’s not the man?

Click to enlarge The Real Banksy

(c) Art Axis / London Dada 2014

* Available in a signed limited edition of 10 only; we believe the only available late contemporary image of the world-famous street artist in the public domain.

Lightjet fine art prints onto Kodak Pro archival paper
22″ W x 16″ H ( unframed )
£850 ( unframed )

Enquiries;  St.Mark@londondada.com

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“I had Banksy & his minder by the photo /video balls that morning – and, respecting their space, let the poor scared buggers go” – AA

Banksy in Jamaica in 2008 before adopting his prosthetic end-nosepiece disguise

  *** The original orientation of the Banksy Jamaican photograph as featured in early editions of British newspapers ( below ), exposing his damaged right ear.

………………………………………………………………………..                                                  royal

The subject of Banksy’s royal interest & post to his Twitter account.

**
And to think we all so wanted to believe Banksy is as originally creative and witty as he is a talented draughtsman. << sigh emoji >>

#nomoreheroes

+ BANKSY SPY BOOTH direct influence/copy from a 2008 London Dada work by Lisa Cummins

Update, 5/2/2018
Hull sighting of Banksy confirmed as genuine by London Dada

* click to enlarge – the same giveaway profile features of his prominent aquiline nose, except again, as in the Jamaican images without his latterday ” on duty ”  latex prosthetic sharp-end nose piece; darkened ginger ( ginger being Rob’s natural hair color)  – ‘tashed thin-lipped mouth, and again the distinctively prominent chin.
In addition, note the badly-matching  2-part false beard disguise Banksy wears on this occasion in our enlarged screenshot from the recent video taken in Hull, looking more like a chin strap. Careful scrutiny of the enlargement shows the sideburn part of the disguise is pinned to his right earlobe, probably through a pre-existing piercing, whilst the lower part of the disguise is attached via a small pin ( see red pen highlighted loops in the super enlargement below, click to view. ) 
In addition, for additional ID confirmation, the lower outside edge ( helix)  of Robin’s right ear is missing * perhaps as a result of a birth/childhood accident, dog attack or even a tragic teenage street knife incident?
In this regard, compare the * ” exit stage right looking pleased” image, below, where the very edge of Rob’s right ear is missing ( Art Axis spot; 6th February 2018 / June 2023).

Confirming beyond reasonable doubt that the two pictures show the same man, and that man is Robin Gunningham / Banksy.

UPDATE 2 Balloon Girl shredding stunt at Sotherby’s, October 5th 2018

Banksy was said by some to be present in the audience filming the pre-arranged stunt.. and so were other folks, one of whom panned her smartphone camera across the room, taking in a dozen heads along the way. London Dada’s Art Axis – who passed within a few feet of Banksy in 2014, paused the video ( an online upload ) at the point where he recognized someone uncannily similar to Banksy, face-wise, with recent front teeth orthodontics, hair now dyed a dark grey and cropped short, the mustache and giveaway prominent dimpled chin and aquiline nose with an unusual pointed end.
The gent was decked out in a business suit with a white loose-necked shirt and sporting dark tortoiseshell-framed glasses, with what appears to be a miniature spy cam attached to the right side keeper.
Cameraphone in hand, he’s obviously enjoying the proceedings…however he is filming with his smartphone in portrait mode, whereas other video featured on his Instagram account of the auction was shot in the pro standard landscape format, suggesting the short assistant/friend/lookout he always works alongside for cover, was filming the event for Banksy’s official Instagram account from close by in the auction room ( see x3 image below )

 

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Update 12/12/2018 ( still frame from Banksy’s ” Director’s Cut and a Half ” video )
After further close analysis and cross-compares, ( * including the missing lower outside edge ( helix ) part of his right ear ), we can say with certainty that this individual, previously filmed elsewhere in the Sotheby’s auction room, was Banksy himself; inadvertently – irony of ironies – caught in close-up in his own video.


© London Dada 2018

Reproduction terms; St.Mark@LondonDada.com

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.ThnOvember ;December

Update; Balloon Girl Reality Check II

November / December 2024.
Over 30,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children murdered by named war criminal Netanyahu’s IDF while the leaders of the ” free ” world stay silent, therefore complicit.
https://youtu.be/PU3rXr_lb20?feature=shared

December 2024 – Fairly obviously relating to Palestine and Gaza, Banksy admirably steps up to the morality plate ( Instagram post, above ) as much as he probably can without wrecking his career by offending the media-controlling tiny hats, or is seen to be drifting in the political landscape by his co££ector base.

Link to the associated archive blog post

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Addendum
Crop of Banksy’s  loose-fitting and overlong jeans with trainers combo deportment style from our 2014 Spitalfields photograph with jeans folding down over the shoes ( below, left )
Compare with the same loose-fitting combo style in the known photo of Banksy by Steve Lazarides, bottom right.

.

( Cropped & appropriated photograph )
* Original photo courtesy Steve Lazarides

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( See below – on both occasions, Banksy is wearing his “on-duty” end-nose latex prosthetic tip )

+COMING SHORTLY
( March / April 2026 )
The Reuters / Gunningham ( Jones ) March 2024 / March 2026 time capsule release 
“George Georgiou unmasked “
Until then..

First up, what can be said re’ the above ” Banksy Georgiou” still of a series of comical videos linking to, supporting and promoting the long dstance Bulgarian street artist GoodGuyBoris Insta channel’s shop, is that ” Banksy Georgiou” is an obvious AI creation, but using as its close basis the frontal facial features of the photos of an alleged Greek handyman George Georgiou, initially claimed in the series featured in the Reuters piece to be Banksy aka Robin Gunningham, aka David Jones,

So we must conclude that the AI Banksy Georgiou, based on the Reuters photos of someone supposedly accepted as handyman George Georgiou and also according to the latest Reuters “correction” is a real individual not at all connected to Banksy and wishes not be disturbed… then absolutely no way would he allow his strikingly close AI replica to be plastered all over the ‘net

The fact that the photographed ” George Georgiou” hasn’t made any more appearances “due to alleged desire to be left alone “, yet still allows his accurate AI face to be plastered all over the ‘net, makes obvious the fact that the man photographed from many angles during the boarding up of the “dripping green tree” wall, is ( a wigged and artificially bulked-out ) Banksy.

Photo compare proofs to follow, please check back..

M. St.M
Shoreditch 28/3/26

 

About London Dada

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Extensive quick-access London Dada archive, 2005 – 2020
Plus + Michael St.Mark’s post-2018 Flikr pro photostream

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Banksy in Lockdown ( a slight aside )

This image, put out by Banksy in the midst of the UK coronavirus lockdown in 2020, features a play on French graffiti artist Blek le Rat’s time-honored rat motif and purports to be based on Banksy’s actual home bathroom; perhaps offers an interesting insight into his social-domestic situation.
The fixtures, fittings, and color scheme are decidedly dated, as if belonging to an unmodernized property from the 1970s or 80s era, which in turn suggests he lives alone, in that if he was married or co-habiting, the lady of the house would typically almost certainly insist on a new suite, especially considering the wealth of her husband or partner
In summary, Robin Gunningham probably lives a predominantly sheltered, if not hermit-like existence, most likely in or around the Bristol area as evidenced by his latest street work on Vale St in the Totterdown district, if he’s conforming to lockdown rules is probably not far from his house.
Incidentally, the current mask mandates in force would constitute an absolute boon for Banksy – meaning he now doesn’t need to bother with tiresome faffing around with variations of disguise before sallying forth to the shops or further afield “for work”.
We can therefore expect more frequency of activity from an emboldened RG as lockdown is eased this year, but he must of course guard against hubris.

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Provisional social comment on Rob’s recent “spraycation” assortment of vanilla artworks appearing on sundry east coast seaside resort infrastructure; August 2021.
What springs to mind off the bat is a revamped version of two lyric lines from The Who’s old hit ,The Seeker..

” People tend to hate me ’cause I rip-off Blek le Rat
..but if I ransacked their homes they’d wanna shake my hand “

“Suffolk Police said in a statement: “Police are appealing for witnesses to an incident of criminal damage in Lowestoft.

Curious that the police never go through with investigations, and that defacing a Banksy spray painting on a wall is now considered a criminal offence?

“It took place at some point between 5:35pm on Saturday 14 and Sunday 15 August at just after midnight “
Just because Frank Newsome, the Merrivale Village owner endorsed – nay embraced – the model stable plant complete with urban style text vandalism only after he realized it was daubed by Banksy and would thereby be a means to make money as a tourist attraction or to sell, is in no way justification or carte blanche for the artist to go about his business spraying any object or objects with impunity and effectively litter them in public locations without legal consequences, as there definitely would be for other artists not in the same public fame bracket, simply because the graffiti concerned subsequently appears on Robin Gunningham’s website as an “authentic Banksy”.
It’s as if this Blek le Rat copyist has become above the law in the UK.

btw liking the deliberate comment syntax spaghetti-like most blokes, he comes in many different disguises

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BANKSY on Ukraine

Latest Banksy Update, December 2023. X ( Twitter ) post outlining the fairly obvious by now, that Robin is virtually immune from the law. The authorities know full well his amended ID and could track him down at the drop of a disguise hat.

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Update January 2024. The Walled-Off Hotel closes its doors, having been spared the indiscriminate Israeli bombing of ca. 300,000 Palestinian women and children in Gaza

Why was no one investigated or arrested for defacing a traffic sign> Why only the poor wretched working class guy who carried it away? Is Banksy now above the law? We got no reply from the Met Old Bill nor from Southwark Council ( see above )

Next up, October 2025 Banksy is confirmed to be above the law as far as street. As of one month on, no investigation or arrest for defacing the Royal Courts of Justice, despite the area bristling with surveillance cams. Did he strike a deal to have it removed the next day by his masked assistant in return for non-persual by the law ( see below )

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ANGELA MERKEL ADMITS CYNICAL DUPLICITY OVER THE MINSK AGREEMENT