BANKSY: UNRAVELLING THE STORY OF THE MYSTERY MAN
“Man is least himself when he talks in his own person. Give him a mask and he will tell you the truth.”
Oscar Wilde

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A world-renowned mystery man, a man who can make you a millionaire if he chooses your wall to paint on, Banksy is arguably the most spoken about street artist of the age. (1) Cloze (1): JXUwMDFm He could be an individual or an organisation who secretively transforms street walls into magnificent murals that shine a light on the dark side of consumerism and capitalism.

The most remarkable of his art techniques is the use of stencils which he developed as a means of quick graffiti. (2) Cloze (2): JXUwMDEy The story of how he came up with this idea is also an interesting one. Now, the basis of his said history relies on rumours and speculations, often with him suspiciously being quoted as the source.

But, nonetheless, the story goes. Banksy left school when he was very young (some suggest that he was expelled from his school). He grew up in the Barton Hill district of Bristol, which was quite scary at the time. When he was 18, he once tried to paint a train with his mates, and they were raided by the British Transport Police. (3) Cloze (3): JXUwMDFh He goes on to recall, “As I lay there listening to the cops on the tracks, I realised I had to cut my time in half or give it up altogether. I was staring straight up at the stencilled plate on the bottom of the fuel tank when I realized I could just copy that style and make each letter three feet high.

”The masked evangelist of street art and freedom of expression has successfully kept his identity a secret, but people have certain theories of who he could be. The most popular guess has been that he is a man that goes by the name of Robin Gunningham. Nonetheless, his art, even though being controversial and satirical in nature of the society, is highly appreciated by art connoisseurs all around the world. In recent accomplishments, his latest work Devolved Parliament was auctioned in London at £9.9 million on October 3rd 2019.

But none of these auctions are held with Banksy’s consent. (4) Cloze (4): JXUwMDFi

This movement came into light when his 2004 graffiti named Kissing Coppers, which he painted in Brighton, was sold in 2014 at $575,000 at an auction in the USA. This was also observed when his internationally reputed graffiti Slave Labor [Bunting Boy] on a public wall in London disappeared one night and was sold in the USA for around $500,000 – $700,000. (5) Cloze (5): JXUwMDFl

Unfortunately, none of this money went to Banksy. And neither does he want it. He condemns that his artwork is prey to consumerism and is sold at auctions. But he also has his way to make people aware of his disapproval of such acts. In a 2018 Sotheby’s auction of his most reputed sketch Girl with Balloon in London, the painting self-shred inside the frame as soon as it was sold. And it was sold for about $1.1 million! Nonetheless, Banksy still needs to earn his bread and butter. And he does that through Pest Control, a handling service acting on behalf of the artist. (6) Cloze (6): JXUwMDEw

A few days earlier, Banksy opened a pop-up homewares store in Croydon named ‘Gross Domestic Product’. The store was opened to tackle a lawsuit against Banksy by a greeting cards company to seize legal custody of his name. And to prevent this, he was advised to sell his own range of branded
merchandise.

(7) Cloze (7): JXUwMDFk   Or he shall forever be immortalised in history as the anonymous artist. And who knows, he might have a disciple who will be taking his title or at least carrying forward his legacy.

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1. Maybe that’s why Banksy refuses to uncover his identity, so he could embody the role of one who exposes the truth of consumerism and capitalism.
2. Everyone bolted leaving Banksy behind. He says, “The rest of my mates made it to the car and disappeared, so I spent over an hour hidden under a dumper truck with engine oil leaking all over me.”
3. Banksy would leave graffiti on the walls, sometimes public but also often privately owned. So once the artist gained popularity, people started stripping off the paintings from the walls and auctioned them.
4. Modern art is certainly offensive on purpose. For instance Banksy’s “Gross Domestic Product” store “where art irritates life.” And of course it mocks Britain’s flag, and Tony the Tiger. But uses recycled materials.
5. Being pushed by the lawsuits and the rising curiosity of people all around the world might just make him reveal his identity very soon.
6. But the residents of the area claimed it back and said that it belonged to them. It embodied the human rights issues of the UK and was returned to the UK where it was sold for $1.1 million!
7. And what adds to the controversy of his work is that, in 20 years of his career, no one knows who he is. Banksy refuses to do interviews and has never been caught ‘redhanded’.
8. That is the sole point of sale for Banksy’s new works and the source for his income. And if he makes a big sale, he often donates the excess money to charities and people in need.
9. Perhaps the solemn style is part of the gag about taking politics so seriously when there’s nothing to see here but some pompous apes. Regrettably one could say the same about the art world.
10. It was revolutionary for street art and his career as it is nearly impossible to spend hours painting graffiti without being recognised by someone.