Mysterious Graffiti Star Banksy May Be Doxxed in Lawsuit – Underground Figure Is Now a Collective of Artists, Backed by an Army of Lawyers, Art Dealers and Curators
We are living in momentous days, in which much of what has been hidden is getting dragged over to the light. Yesterday’s secrets are becoming today’s disclosures.
And the art world isn’t any different. Now, it surfaces that the graffiti artist known to the world as Banksy may be unmasked in an upcoming UK court defamation case.
The lawsuit was prompted by Banksy’s use of Instagram to invite shoplifters to go to a Guess store and loot it, since it had used his imagery without permission.
The case could end up forcing Banksy to relinquish his anonymity, which has been central to his success.
The Conversation reported:
“There has been much speculation as to the identity of the artist and he is believed by many to be Bristol’s Robin Gunningham, who was named as a co-defendant in the defamation suit. While it has not been confirmed that Banksy is Gunningham, pointing this out is in no way a revelation. Moreover, trying to find out Banksy’s identity ultimately does not matter.”
There have been several investigations into the artist’s identity, but no one has been able to link Gunningham definitely to Banksy.
“Short of Gunningham’s admission, complete certainty is unlikely. But if Banksy’s identity is revealed, police forces around the world could bring vandalism, property destruction, criminal mischief or worse charges against the individual. Gunningham revealing himself would also destroy the Banksy mystique.”
There was once an artist named Banksy, with a graffiti career and a famous ‘beef’ with London graffiti legend Robbo.
“Banksy is now a collective of artists who work together to produce thoughtful, provocative and subversive pieces and installations. The scope and secrecy of Banksy’s larger works require the cooperation of many individuals to orchestrate, direct and produce them.
[…] Investigators believe that the collective includes many well-known and established artists. Bristol street artist John D’oh is among those rumoured to be involved, as is graffiti and street artist James AME72 Ame and perhaps even Massive Attack singer Robert Del Naja, among others. This is speculation. And again, this doesn’t matter.”
In 2021, Banksy’s trademark was rejected by the EU. The decision uses Banksy’s own words: ‘The public is morally and legally free to reproduce, amend and otherwise use any copyright works forced upon them by third parties’.
Banksy also famously said that ‘copyright is for losers’.
In 2019, the mysterious artist officially revealed the ‘homewares’ brand Gross Domestic Product.
Banksy has a cohort of trusted art dealers for official ‘Banskys’, and an authentication service called Pest Control to verify the provenance of artwork.
“So, what’s the point of all this? Well, Banksy was an individual street artist at one point. This was probably Robin Gunningham. However, Banksy is now a collective of artists who work under the Banksy brand to produce the works that the Banksy authentication service, Pest Control, officially decrees as Banksys. Banksy is also a team of lawyers, art dealers and curators who ensure that only works officially associated with the Banksy brand get the certified Banksy seal of approval.”
Having a team of lawyers verifying real Banksys ‘doesn’t do much for your street cred’.
The Standard reported:
“The legendary graffiti artist is being sued by a company run by Andrew Gallagher over a November 2022 social media post featuring an image of Banksy’s ‘Flower Bomber’ work in the Regent Street shop window.
The Instagram post was accompanied by the caption: ‘Alerting all shoplifters. Please go to GUESS on Regent Street. They’ve helped themselves to my artwork without asking, how can it be wrong for you to do the same to their clothes?’”
In a filing at the High Court, lawyers say they may seek for the graffiti artist to be unmasked during the legal case.
“’His true identity has not been disclosed to the public but he carries on his public activities under the pseudonym Banksy’, they state. ‘The claimant reserves the right to seek an order that he identifies himself for the purposes of these proceedings’.”
Banksy and his company Pest Control Office Limited are being sued for £1,357,086 ($1,651,356) in losses, claiming the Instagram post caused ‘serious harm’ and ‘serious financial loss’.
“Following the publication of the post, a crowd of people appeared outside the GUESS store on Regent Street, London, creating a disturbance within and outside the store and causing the store to be closed to the public.”
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