Banksy is an anonymous street artist, vandal, political activist, and film director from the UK. He began as an artist at the age of 14, was expelled from school and served time in prison for petty crime.
He started in 1993 in Bristol as a freehand graffiti artist. Since 2000 he moved to London and started to use stencils to enhance speed because in most cases he paints his art on public walls and buildings without permission and preventing from getting caught. His work grew out of the Bristol underground scene.
His work can be found all over the world. Banksy wants to be famous but he is an anti-capitalist. Therefore his work can be seen on buildings, bridges and walls. This doesn't help because sometimes complete walls are removed in order to sell it. A small number of Banksy's works are officially without publicity sold through Pest Control. All over the world exhibitions of his work are displayed that he smuggles in preventing him to unveal his real identity.

Banksy’s books which include Banging Your Head Against a Brick Wall (2001), Existencilism (2002), and Wall and Piece (2005) document his projects.
Gunningham / Del Naja  / Hewlett
There are a number of speculations about who Banksy could be:
  • Robin Gunningham who was born on 28 July 1973 in Yate about 12 miles from Bristol
  • Robert Del Naja (a.k.a. 3D). Frontman of the trip hop band Massive Attack who was a graffiti artist during the 80's before forming the band. But he is also identified as a personal friend of Banksy.
  • Jamie Hewlett. An english comic book artist and designer best known for the comic Tank Girl and the virtual band Gorillaz.
Turf War (2003)
In the 2003 exhibition “Turf War” he painted on the bodies of live pigs and cows combined with paitings and cars.
Crude Oils (inspired by Van Gogh's Sunflowers) (2005)
At his “Crude Oils” exhibition in London in 2005 which featured altered replicas of the works of Claude Monet, Vincent van Gogh, and Edward Hopper, he released 200 live rats in the gallery. In that same year Banksy, fully disguised, installed his own works secretly on the walls of major museums in New York City and London including the Metropolitan Museum of Art and Tate Britain. Also in 2005 he painted a wall on the Palestinian side of the West Bank.
Barely Legal exhibition (2006)
In September 2006 his one-weekend Los Angeles warehouse installation “Barely Legal” was presented. Back in Bristol (UK) he painted a naked man clinging to a windowsill on the side of a public family-planning clinic. Local residents voted to keep the mural. It is titled "Well Hung Lover". A life-size image of two policemen kissing were featured in the futuristic film Children of Men.
Well Hung Lover (2006)
In 2010 he made a documentary titled "Exit Through The Gift Shop" about a french man immigrated to LA who became obsessed with street art. The documentary received many awards.
Dismaland (2015)
In September 2015 Banksy introduced his anti-themepark Dismaland in Weston-super-Mare (UK). It was a temporary family theme park created by Banksy.
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Brexit mural (2017)
A Walled Off Hotel opened in Bethlehem in 2017 with paintings from Banksy. That same year he painted a mural in Dover that was about the BREXIT.
Girl With Balloon (2006)
In late 2018 Girl with Balloon (2006), a canvas version of one of Banksy’s most popular murals, was sold for $1.4 million and immediately after being sold the build in shredder started to destroy the canvas. The result was that the worth of this work has gone up even more and is now titled "Love Is In The Bin".
Until now his identity is still a secret and he continues to surprise the world with his art and public stunts.