You can read more about that from our report at the time, here. As 3D, he was something of a young polymath - a leading street artist, then musician, DJ and producer and key figure in the evolving Bristol cultural scene of the 1980s and 90s, which ended up with him part of Massive Attack.īut why is he also Banksy? The idea provoked baffled guffaws in Bristol when, in August 2016, a Scottish journalist put two and two together and linked Banksy doing art work around the world with the dates on Massive Attack's world tours. Rob del Naja is one of the elder statesmen, the godfathers of the Bristol music and street art scene. Let's start with the most famous theory about Banksy, that he's actually someone who is already famous. The Great Coronavirus Lockdown 'Is This A Banksy?' Quizīut given he's a global celebrity, and given those outside the close-knit street art community are intrigued by who he is, far more than it actually matters, there has been endless speculation, theories, studies and reports into who the real Banksy is.Īnd there certainly have been some way out ones.There are, in truth, so many people in Bristol who actually do know who Banksy is, who grew up with him, who painted alongside him, who played football with him, or organised street art shows with him in the early days, who work with him now or know him still, that it's almost fair to say it's like a collective, civic bond of omerta, a Bristol State Secret, an unspoken code that, while Banksy doesn't want people to know who he is, they are not going to be the ones to tell. Then he went to London, and from there he and his art went around the world. The story about Banksy is that he grew up in Bristol, cut his teeth doing street art as a youngster looking up to the older teenagers and young men of the street art and music scene in the city in the 1980s and early 1990s. His real name isn't Banksy, and the mystery of his identity is the one thing that travels the world with his eye-catching, subversive and witty street art. Hopefully no one takes it all too seriously.He's anonymous. Well, whatever the case may be, speculating on the identity of artist such as Banksy (and secretive authors such as Thomas Pynchon) is loads of fun. Similarly, Banksy is credited with the introduction for Del Naja’s 3D and the Art of Massive Attack, published in 2015. Williams posits that Del Naja and others, possibly Gunningham, are all a collective functioning as the artist known as Banksy.Ĭuriously, Del Naja appears in the documentary Exit through the Gift Shop talking about Banksy like he was an old friend. In fact, another Banksy candidate is Robin Gunningham, previously identified by none other than the Daily Mailand, separately, The Guardian, who is also a known associate of Del Naja and Massive Attack (this is disputed). The evidence, such that it is, is all circumstantial and no one has confirmed anything. Specifically, Banksy pieces found or shown in Melbourne, Australia (March 2003), in Disneyland and Los Angeles (September 2006), again in Melbourne (March to April 2010), in San Francisco, Toronto, and Boston (May 2010), and New York (September to October 2013) can all be tied to stops on Massive Attack tours. Street art by Banksy, New York, October 2013 Massive Attack had played the city in September. ![]() In other words, Del Naja (a noted graffiti artist, as it happens) had both the means and was in the right location to have participated in creating Banksy artwork. ![]() ![]() Journalist Craig Williams came up with the Del Naja collective theory after tracking Banksy artworks around the world and finding that they appeared at the same relative time and place as Massive Attack concerts. The paper has a crazy graphic related to this news that you just have to see, which can find via the link above. Now, that is downright trippy because Banksy is known to be from Bristol and so is Massive Attack (Bristol is the birthplace of trip-hop). The Daily Mailreports that Banksy is none other than Robert ‘3D’ Del Naja of legendary trip-hop band Massive Attack…or that he is at least a member of a collective working as the artist known as Banksy. We’re talking of course about the street artist Banksy, who was in the news recently when one of his murals in the UK was damaged, and the latest theory about his identity takes a decidedly “hiding in plain sight” approach. The art world’s favorite cypher is the target once again of investigative journalism seeking to unmask him.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |