Apparently born in Bristol in 1975, Banksy's location as well as real name is not publicly known.
Little more can be added to the plethora of information currently available on the artist known as Banksy. Google the name and it would take some time to disseminate all the data surrounding him and his work, be they street pieces or gallery canvasses and screenprints.
Artistic genius, political activist, painter and decorator, mythic legend or notorious graffiti artist? The work of Banksy is unmistakable, except maybe when it's sitting, uninvited, in the Tate or New York's Metropolitan Museum.
Banksy is responsible for decorating the streets, walls, bridges and zoos of towns and cities throughout the world. Witty and subversive, his stencils show elephants with weapons of mass destruction, policeman with smiley faces, rats with drills and umbrellas. If you look hard enough, you'll find your own. His statements, incitements, ironies and epigrams are by turns intelligent and cheeky comments on everything from the monarchy and capitalism to the war in Iraq and farm animals.
His identity remains unknown, but his work is prolific. His auction records speak volumes for the popularity of his art which is included in some of the most important private collections in the World.
On June 13, 2009, the Banksy UK Summer show, titled ‘Banksy versus Bristol Museum’ opened at Bristol City Museum and Art Gallery, featuring more than 100 works of art, including animatronics and installations.
It represents the largest Banksy show to date, featuring 78 new works, in which the artist has ‘”remixed” the museum’s own collection by putting his own artworks amongst it.
Speaking exclusively to the Bristol Evening Post, Banksy said: "The people of Bristol have always been very good to me – I decided the best way to show my appreciation was by putting a bunch of old toilets and some live chicken nuggets in their museum.”
Banksy's much awaited film 'Exit Through The Gift Shop' released in the UK, March 5th 2010. Billed as "the world's first street art disaster movie", Banksy says: "It's the story of how one man set out to film the un-filmable. And failed".