The identity of the 'faceless painter' Banksy: born in 1973, from Bristol, England

[The Financial News]"Born in 1973, from Bristol, England. Originally named Robin Gunningham, he changed his name to David Jones in 2008."This is the profile that has been presented as the true identity of Banksy, the "faceless street artist."
Foreign media including the New York Post and The Daily Telegraph reported on October 16 (local time) that graffiti artist Robin Gunningham is Banksy, and disclosed his personal details.
Banksy is a stencil graffiti artist and film director based in the United Kingdom. Through graffiti, he has gained worldwide fame for his satirical and provocative works that criticize war and consumerism and draw attention to refugees and other social issues.
Over the years, there has been intense speculation about the identity of Banksy, who calls himself an "art terrorist." Candidates have included fellow street artist Thierry Guetta, known by the pseudonym Mr. Brainwash, and Robert Del Naja, frontman of the British band Massive Attack.
Foreign outlets have concluded that he is Gunningham, who in 2008 changed his name to David Jones, one of the most common male names in the United Kingdom, in an apparent effort to conceal his identity. The claim that Banksy is Gunningham was first raised in a 2008 report by The Mail on Sunday, but at the time the story could not be fully verified and remained mere speculation.
However, his identity is now said to have been re-confirmed by compiling recent forensic evidence. Investigators analyzed travel records from around the time Banksy's works began appearing in Ukraine in 2022, interviews with local residents, and a handwritten confession included in a 2000 arrest report by the New York City Police Department (NYPD), and drew this conclusion.
Instead of responding directly to media requests for comment, Banksy's side issued a statement through his lawyer, Mark Stephens.
The statement said, "Our client does not agree with the claim that many of the details mentioned are accurate," rejecting the reports and calling on media outlets not to publish stories about his identity.
Stephens also explained why Banksy insists on remaining anonymous: "He has been the target of persistent, threatening and extreme behavior. Working anonymously or under a pseudonym carries important social value," he stressed, adding, "It protects freedom of expression, especially when dealing with sensitive issues such as politics, religion and social justice, so that creators can speak the truth without fear of retaliation or censorship."
y27k@fnnews.com Reporter Seo Yoon-kyung Reporter