People have tried to figure out the identity of street artist Banksy for years, but the latest candidate thrust forth as the person behind Banksy is a name that many people are familiar with.
According to Scottish journalist Craig Williams, Banksy is none other than British band Massive Attack founder Robert Del Naja, who also goes by 3D.
Del Naja, who appeared in the 2010 documentary Exit Through the Gift Shop, has a long history with Banksy dating back to their graffiting days in Bristol during the ’80s; Del Naja was a graffiti artist before he formed Massive Attack. The two graffiti artists have had art shows together and Banksy cited Del Naja as an influence on his art.
The main piece of evidence Williams presents—a fair amount of it spanning more than a decade—is that for years Banksy art has appeared in cities around the same time Massive Attack performed there. The two are linked further as Del Naja features Banksy artwork on Massive Attack albums and Banksy wrote the introduction of Del Naja’s 2015 book, 3D & the Art of Massive Attack. And Massive Attack canceled a concert appearance at Dismaland in September after Banksy asked people to wear masks so he could attend without his identity being revealed.
“Perhaps the assertion then that Banksy is just one person is wide of the mark, instead being a group who have, over the years, followed Massive Attack around and painted walls at their leisure,” Williams wrote. “And perhaps, at the head of such a group we have Del Naja. A multi disciplined artist in front of one the seminal groups in recent British music history, doubling up as the planet’s most revered street artist. Now that would be cool.”
While the newest revelation might be the strongest argument of Banksy’s identity to date, others weren’t as impressed.
https://twitter.com/BrotherNumpsa/status/771741180413476865
H/T the Daily Mail