Banksy is the pseudonym of a street artist whose real name and identity remain uncertain and continue to be the subject of widespread speculation. Believed to be British and active since the 1990s, he uses stencil art to convey messages that often combine politics, humor, and poetry.

His works are humorous images, sometimes accompanied by slogans.

The underlying message is generally anarchist, anti-militarist, anti-capitalist, or anti-establishment. His recurring subjects include rats, monkeys, police officers, soldiers, children, celebrities, and elderly people.

Banksy creates stencil works on walls around the world. In 2005, he painted on the Israeli West Bank barrier in Gaza's vicinity in an effort to offer hope to the Palestinian people. His distinctive style can now be found across the globe, including in New York, London, Paris, and Venice.

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Class Art Biarritz offers several signed and unsigned Banksy screen prints, all accompanied by a Pest Control Certificate of Authenticity. The gallery also offers a wide selection of skateboard decks featuring some of Banksy's most iconic images, including Girl with Balloon, Love Rat, Flower Bomber (Flower Thrower), Laugh Now, and Churchill Turf War.

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Most of Banksy's artworks, whether murals, screen prints, or skateboard editions, are created using stencil techniques. In his book Wall and Piece, Banksy explains why he adopted this approach: during his early years, he worked slowly and was frequently caught in the act by the police. Stencils enabled him to execute his works much more quickly on location.

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Better Out Than In: The New York Residency (2013)

In October 2013, Banksy transformed New York City into a vast open-air gallery with Better Out Than In, a month-long artistic residency during which he unveiled a new work every day in a different neighborhood. Each day, residents discovered a stencil, sculpture, installation, or performance, with the location revealed on the artist's website. Among the most memorable projects were a truck transporting stuffed animals to a slaughterhouse, a prehistoric-style graffiti mural, and the anonymous sale of original paintings for just $60 from a stand in Central Park. Nearly all passersby ignored the paintings, despite the fact that they are now worth hundreds of thousands of dollars. The residency became a major media phenomenon and confirmed Banksy's unique ability to turn every artistic intervention into a global event. It also perfectly illustrated his taste for provocation, humor, and questioning the value of art, while significantly expanding his popularity with the general public.

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Dismaland (2015): The Theme Park That Captivated the World

In the summer of 2015, Banksy astonished audiences by opening Dismaland, a temporary theme park installed in the abandoned outdoor swimming pool of Weston-super-Mare, in southwest England. Presented as "a family theme park unsuitable for children," the project parodied the conventions of Disney parks through dark humor while criticizing consumerism, social inequality, mass surveillance, the refugee crisis, and the excesses of capitalism. More than fifty internationally renowned artists, including Damien Hirst, Jenny Holzer, and Jimmy Cauty, participated in the immersive exhibition. Over its five-week run, Dismaland attracted nearly 150,000 visitors from around the world and generated tens of millions of pounds in economic benefits for the local region. After the exhibition closed, Banksy announced that the park's construction materials would be reused to build shelters for refugees in the Calais camp, extending the political impact of the project. Today, Dismaland remains one of the defining artistic events of the twenty-first century.

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On June 23, 2017, DJ Goldie appeared to accidentally reveal Banksy's first name during an interview, referring to the artist as "Robert." This prompted the media and fans to speculate that Banksy might be Robert Del Naja, a founding member of the band Massive Attack. The theory was reinforced by journalist Craig Williams, who observed striking similarities between the locations and dates of Banksy's artworks and Massive Attack's touring schedule. Although Del Naja has denied being Banksy, he has acknowledged that the two are friends.

In March 2026, Reuters published an investigation examining the many theories surrounding Banksy's identity, whose anonymity has fueled fascination for decades. Drawing upon public records, witness accounts, and numerous independent sources, the investigation revisited several longstanding hypotheses. Among the names most frequently cited was Robin Gunningham, an artist from Bristol whose background appears to match several elements uncovered by journalists and researchers. Reuters nevertheless emphasized that no conclusive evidence exists to officially confirm this identification. Banksy himself has never publicly acknowledged being Robin Gunningham and continues to protect his anonymity. This secrecy has become an essential part of his artistic identity and significantly contributes to the enduring fascination surrounding his work. The Reuters investigation ultimately highlighted the difficulty of definitively identifying an artist who has deliberately made anonymity an integral component of his practice. Despite decades of investigations and speculation, the mystery officially remains unsolved. According to our sources, Banksy's true identity has still not been established. It is neither Robert Del Naja nor Robin Gunningham. It may even be a collective of artists.

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Banksy's worldwide success and carefully preserved anonymity have inevitably led to countless imitations, creating significant challenges regarding the authentication of certain works, particularly unsigned pieces. To combat fraud, Banksy relies on several official channels to authenticate his works. Since 2009, Pest Control, the organization established on his behalf, has been the only entity authorized to certify or reject the authenticity of Banksy's artworks. He also uses his official Instagram account and, on occasion, his website to claim ownership of newly created murals.

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Banksy's market value has risen steadily over the past twenty years, making him one of the most sought-after contemporary artists in the global art market. According to Reuters, his works have generated nearly $250 million in secondary-market sales since 2015, while annual auction transactions now exceed one thousand lots. This sustained demand is driven by the rarity of authenticated works combined with Banksy's exceptional international reputation.

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On October 14, 2021, Girl with Balloon—the artwork that famously partially self-destructed through a hidden shredder built into its frame during an auction on October 5, 2018—was resold by its owner. This time, the work achieved €21.8 million, setting a new auction record for Banksy. His second-highest auction result is Game Changer (2020), a painting paying tribute to healthcare workers during the COVID-19 pandemic. The work sold at Christie's London on March 23, 2021, for £16,758,000 (including fees), equivalent to approximately US$23.2 million at the time. The entire proceeds from the sale were donated to organizations supporting the UK's National Health Service (NHS).

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The Destruction of Girl with Balloon at Sotheby's (2018)

On October 5, 2018, Banksy staged one of the most spectacular moments in the history of contemporary art. Just seconds after Girl with Balloon was auctioned at Sotheby's in London for more than £1 million, a shredder hidden inside the frame was activated, partially destroying the artwork before the astonished eyes of collectors and auction attendees.

Banksy immediately claimed responsibility for the performance, explaining that he had secretly installed the mechanism years earlier in case the work was ever sold at auction. The event instantly made headlines around the world and went viral across social media. Renamed Love Is in the Bin, the artwork acquired an entirely new artistic identity, while its market value increased dramatically. Today, the performance is widely regarded as a unique fusion of artistic creation, criticism of the art market, and media strategy.

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The growing number of counterfeit works has become one of the greatest challenges facing the Banksy market. To combat forgeries, the artist established Pest Control Office in 2008, the only organization authorized to authenticate his works and issue Certificates of Authenticity (COAs). This document has become essential for selling, insuring, or obtaining expert appraisals of a Banksy artwork, to the extent that the absence of a certificate can significantly reduce its market value.

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However, Pest Control systematically refuses to authenticate street artworks that have been removed from their original locations, maintaining that they were created for the public realm rather than for the art market. In recent years, the authentication process has become considerably slower and more selective, with waiting periods that can extend from several months to several years, prompting criticism from some collectors.

Despite these challenges, a Pest Control Certificate remains the only officially recognized proof of authenticity for a Banksy artwork and continues to be one of the key factors determining its market value. It is possible that Pest Control may eventually discontinue its authentication activities altogether. Legal disputes surrounding authenticity have become increasingly costly, as demonstrated by the Keith Haring Foundation, which was ultimately forced to cease its own authentication services after facing multiple lawsuits from dissatisfied collectors and escalating financial risks.

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Banksy's Most Iconic Works

Banksy's most celebrated and influential works include Girl with Balloon (2002), Love Is in the Bin (2018), The Flower Thrower (Love Is in the Air) (2003), Game Changer (2020), and Kissing Coppers (2004).

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Girl with Balloon (2002)

First appearing in 2002 on a wall near Waterloo Bridge in London, Girl with Balloon has become Banksy's signature work. It depicts a young girl either releasing—or reaching toward—a red heart-shaped balloon, a universal symbol of love, hope, and innocence.

The composition's simplicity, dominated by the stark contrast between the black stencil and the vivid red balloon, contributes to its powerful emotional impact. In certain versions, the inscription "There Is Always Hope" reinforces the optimistic message.

The artwork has become a true icon of popular culture, reproduced on countless posters, books, and merchandise. In 2018, a framed version famously partially self-destructed immediately after being sold at Sotheby's, transforming the auction into one of the most celebrated artistic performances of the twenty-first century. Renamed Love Is in the Bin, the work now holds Banksy's auction record.

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Love Is in the Bin (2018)

On October 5, 2018, only moments after being sold at Sotheby's for more than £1 million, a version of Girl with Balloon began passing through a shredder concealed within its frame.

The mechanism, secretly installed by Banksy several years earlier, only shredded the lower half of the artwork, creating a completely new piece entitled Love Is in the Bin. The spectacular performance denounced speculation within the art market while simultaneously demonstrating Banksy's extraordinary ability to transform a commercial transaction into an artistic act.

Ironically, the partial destruction dramatically increased the artwork's value. In 2021, it was resold for £18.6 million, establishing a new world auction record for the artist. Today, this episode is considered one of the defining moments in the history of contemporary art auctions.

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The Flower Thrower (Love Is in the Air) (2003)

Created in Jerusalem in 2003, The Flower Thrower is one of Banksy's most famous political works. It portrays a masked protester frozen in the posture of someone about to throw a projectile, except that he is holding a bouquet of colorful flowers instead of a weapon.

By replacing violence with flowers, Banksy subverts the visual language of conflict to promote a message of peace. The work encourages reflection on war, resistance, and alternative forms of expression, and is often interpreted as a call to answer hatred with creativity, dialogue, and compassion rather than force.

Reproduced worldwide, it has become a universal symbol of nonviolence and one of the most recognizable images in contemporary street art.

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Game Changer (2020)

Created in the spring of 2020, at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, Game Changer marked a notable departure in Banksy's work through its more consensual and deeply humanistic tone.

Donated to Southampton University Hospital, the painting depicts a young boy playing with a nurse action figure wearing a superhero cape, while Batman and Spider-Man lie discarded in a wastebasket. Through this simple yet powerful composition, Banksy pays tribute to healthcare workers, portraying them as the true heroes of the global health crisis.

The artwork remained on display in the hospital for several months before being auctioned at Christie's in 2021 for £16.8 million. The entire proceeds were donated to charities supporting the United Kingdom's National Health Service (NHS), further strengthening the symbolic significance of the work.

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Kissing Coppers (2004)

First appearing in 2004 on the wall of the Prince Albert pub in Brighton, Kissing Coppers depicts two uniformed British police officers sharing a passionate kiss.

By juxtaposing an institution traditionally associated with authority and masculinity with an intimate same-sex embrace, Banksy challenges stereotypes, prejudice, and conventional social norms. The mural quickly sparked intense debate throughout the United Kingdom, provoking both admiration and outrage before ultimately becoming a symbol of diversity, equality, and tolerance.

The original mural was protected several times from acts of vandalism before eventually being removed for conservation purposes. Today, Kissing Coppers remains one of Banksy's best-known works and perfectly illustrates his remarkable ability to combine humor, provocation, and social commentary in an image that is immediately understandable.